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I 





























THE 


KING OF THE MOUNTAINS 



BY EDMUND , ABOUT. 






TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY 
MRS. C. A. KINGSBURY. 


19163;- I 

Chicago and New York: 
RAND, McNALLY & COMPANY. 






MDCCCXCVII. 


P2.3 

.A\5feV.r 


Copyright, 1897, by Rand, McNally & Co. 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


I. 

HERMANN SCHULTZ. 

On the 3d of July, about six o’clock in the morning, 
I was watering my flowers. A young man entered 
the garden. He was blonde^ b^rdlessj he wore a 
German cap and sported gold spectacles. A long, 
loose woolen coat, or paletot, drooped in a melancholy 
way around his form, like a sail around a mast in a 
calm. He wore no gloves; his tan leather shoes had 
such large soles, that the foot was surrounded by a 
narrow flange. In the breast-pocket of his paletot, a 
huge porcelain pipe bulged half-way out. I did not 
stop to ask myself whether this young man was a 
student in the German Universities; I put down my 
watering-pot, and saluted him with: “Guten Morgen!’’ 

'‘Monsieur,’’ he said to me in French, but with a 
deplorable accent, “my name is Hermann Schultz; I 
have come to pass some months in Greece, and I 
have carried your book with me everywhere.” 

This praise penetrated my heart with sweet joy; 
the stranger’s voice seemed more melodious than 
Mozart’s music, and I directed toward his gold glasses 
a swift look of gratitude. You would scarcely be- 
lieve, dear reader, how much we love those who have 
taken the trouble to decipher our jargon. As for me, 
if I have ever sighed to be rich, it is in order to as- 
sure an income to all those who have read my works. 


6 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


I took him by the hand, this excellent young man. 
I seated him beside me on the garden-bench. He 
told me that he was a botanist, that he had a com- 
mission from the Plantes” in Hamburg. 

In order to complete his herbarium he was studying 
the country, the animals, and the people. His naive 
descriptions, his terse but just decisions, recalled to 
me, a little, the simple old Herodotus. He expressed 
himself awkwardly, but with a candor which inspired 
confidence; he emphasized his words with the tone of 
a man entirely convinced. He questioned me, if not 
of every one in Athens, at least of all the principal 
personages in my book. In the course of the conver- 
sation, he made some statements on general subjects, 
which seemed to me far more reasonable than any 
which I had advanced. At the end of an hour we had 
become good friends. 

I do not know which of us first spoke of brigand- 
age. People who travel in Italy talk of paintings; 
those who visit England talk of manufactures; each 
country has its specialty. 

“My dear sir,” I asked of my guest, “have you met 
any brigands? Is it true, as is reported, that there 
are still bandits in Greece?” 

“It is only too true,” he gravely replied. “I was for 
fifteen days in the hands of the terrible Hadgi- 
Stavros, nicknamed The King of the Mountains. I 
speak then from experience. If you have leisure, and 
a long story will not weary you, I am ready to give 
you the details of my adventure. You may make of 
it what you please; a romance, a novel, or perhaps 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


7 


an additional chapter in the little book in which you 
have written so many curious facts.” 

‘‘You are very good,” I replied, “and I am at your 
disposal. Let us go to my study. It is cooler there 
than in the garden and yet we can enjoy the odor of 
the sweet-peas and mignonette.” 

He followed me, humming to himself in Greek, a 
popular song: 

“A robber with black eyes descends to the plains; 

His gun is heard at each step; 

He says to the vultures: ‘Do not leave me, 

I will serve to you the Pasha of Athens.’ ” 

He seated himself on a divan, with his legs crossed 
under him like the Arabian story-tellers, took off his 
loose paletot, lighted his pipe and began his tale. I 
seated myself at my desk and took stenographic notes 
as he dictated. 

I have always been without much distrust, espe- 
cially with those who have complimented me. Some- 
times the amiable stranger told me such surprising 
things that I asked myself many times if he was not 
mocking me. But his manner was so simple, his blue 
eyes so limpid, that my suspicions faded away on the 
instant. 

He talked steadily, until half after noon. He 
stopped two or three times only long enough to re- 
light his pipe. 

He smoked with regular puffs like the smoke stack 
of a steam-engine. Each time I raised my eyes, I be- 
held him, calm, smiling, in the midst of a thick cloud 
of smoke, like Jupiter in the 5th act of Amphitryon. 


s 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


We were interrupted by a servant with the an- 
nouncement that breakfast was served. Hermann 
seated himself opposite me, and my trifling suspicions 
vanished before his appetite. I said to myself that a 
good digestion rarely accompanies a bad conscience. 
The young German was too good an eater to be an 
untruthful narrator, and his veracity restored my 
faith in his veracity. Struck with this idea, I 
confessed, while offering him some strawberries, that 
I had, for an instant, doubted him. He replied with 
an angelic smile. 

I passed the entire day with my new friend, and I 
found that the time did not drag. At five o^clock, he 
knocked the ashes from his pipe, put on his outer 
coat, and shaking my hand, said: “Adieu.” I replied: 
“Au revoir.” 

“No,” he said, shaking his head; “I leave to-night 
at seven o’clock, and I dare not hope ever to see 
you again.” 

“Leave your address. I have not yet renounced the 
pleasure of traveling, and I may, sometime, pass 
through Hamburg.” 

“Unfortunately, I do not know where I shall pitch 
my tent. Germany is large; I may not remain a citi- 
zen of Hamburg.” 

“But if I publish your story, at least I ought to 
send you a copy.” 

“Do not take that trouble. As soon as the book 
is published, it will appear in Leipzig and I will read 
it. Adieu !” 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. » 

After his departure, I re-read attentively what I had 
written. I found some remarkable details, but nothing 
which contradicts what I had seen and heard during 
my stay in Greece. 

At the moment of finishing the manuscript, a 
scruple restrained me: What if some errors had 
crept into Hermann’s statements? In my quality of 
editor was I not responsible? To publish the story 
of “The King of the Mountains,” was it not to expose 
myself to editorial comments and criticisms? 

In my perplexity, I thought of making a copy of the 
original. I sent the first to M. Pseftis. I begged him 
to point out, candidly, all the errors, and I promised 
to print his reply at the end of the volume. 

I re-read the copy which I had retained. I changed 
no word in it. If I made myself the corrector of the 
young German’s statements, I would become his cob 
laborator. So I discreetly withdrew. It is Hermann 
who speaks to you. 


10 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


IL 

PHOTINI. 

You divine, from the appearance of my clothes, 
that I have not ten thousand francs with me. My 
father is an inn-keeper whom the railroads have 
ruined. In prosperous times he eats bread, in bad 
years potatoes. Add to this, that there are six chil- 
dren, all with good appetites. The day on which I 
received my commission from the Jardin des Plantes, 
there was a festival given in the family. My departure 
would not only increase the portion of each of my 
brothers, but I was to have two hundred and fifty 
francs per month and the expenses for my journey. 
It was a fortune. From that moment they ceased to 
call me Doctor. They dubbed me beef-merchant, so 
that I should appear rich! My brothers prophesied 
that I would be elected Professor by the University, 
on my return from Athens. My father hoped that I 
would return married. In his position of inn-keeper, 
he had assisted in some very romantic adventures. 
He cited, at least three times a week, the marriage of 
the Princess Ypsoff and Lieutenant Reynauld. The 
Princess occupied the finest apartments, with her two 
maids and her Courier, and she gave twenty florins a 
day. ^ The French Lieutenant was in No. 17, way up 
under the eaves, and he paid a florin and a half, food 
included; however, after a month’s sojourn at the 
hotel, he departed in a carriage with the Russian 
lady. ♦ 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


11 


My poor father, with the partiality of a father, 
thought that I was handsomer and more elegant than 
Lieutenant Reynauld; he did not doubt but that, 
sooner or later, I would meet a princess who would 
enrich us all. If I did not find her at a table d’hote, I 
would see her in a railway carriage. If the powers 
which control the railroads were not propitious, there 
was still left the steamships. The evening of my de- 
parture, we drank a bottle of old Rhine wine, and by 
chance the last was poured into my glass. The good 
man wept with joy: it was a sure sign, and nothing 
could prevent me from marrying within a year. I re- 
spected his superstitions, and I refrained from saying 
that princesses rarely travel third class. As for lodg- 
ings, my humble luggage would not permit me to 
choose any but modest inns, and royal families do not, 
usually, lodge in them. The fact is, that I landed in 
Greece without an adventure of any kind. 

The army occupying the city made everything very 
dear in Athens. The Hotel d’Angleterre, the Hotel 
Orient, the Hotel des Etrangers were inaccessible. 
The Chancellor of the Prussian Legation, to whom I 
had brought a letter of introduction, was kind enough 
to assist me in finding a lodging. He took me to a 
pastry-cook’s, at the corner of the Rue d’Hermes and 
the Place du Palais. I found there, board and lodging 
for a hundred francs a month. Christodule was an 
old Palikar, decorated with the Iron Cross, in me^^ory 
of the War of Independence. He was a Lieutenant 
in the Phalanx, he wore the National costume, the 
red bonnet with blue tassel, the silver-colored vest, the 


12 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


white skirt, and the fancy leggins, when he sold ices 
and cakes. His wife, Maroula, was enormous, like all 
Greek women who have passed fifty. Her husband 
had purchased her during the war, when women sold 
for high prices. She was born in the Isle of Hydra, 
but she dressed in the Athenian fashion: upper gar- 
ment or jacket of black velvet, skirt of a bright color, 
a silk handkerchief tied over her head. Neither Chris- 
todule nor his wife knew a word of German ; but their 
son Dimitri, who was a servant hired by the day, and 
who dressed like a Frenchman, understood and spoke 
a little of each patois of Europe. Upon the whole, I 
had really no need of an interpreter. Without having 
received the gift of tongues, I am a fairly good linguist, 
and I murder Greek as readily as English, Italian or 
French. 

My hosts were worthy people; they gave me a little 
white-washed room, with a table of white wood, two 
straw-bottomed chairs, a good but thin mattress, and 
some cotton quilts. A wooden bed is a superfluity 
which the Greeks easily deny themselves, and we lived 
a la Grecque. I breakfasted on a cup of arrow-root; I 
dined on a plate of meat with many olives, and dry fish ; 
I supped on vegetables, honey and cakes. Preserves 
were not rare in the house, and occasionally I evoked 
memories of home by dining on a leg of lamb and pre- 
serves. It is useless to tell you that I had my pipe, 
and that the tobacco in Athens is better than yours. 
That which contributed to my feeling perfectly at 
home in Christodule’s house, was a light wine of 
Santorin, which he bought, I know not where. I am 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


13 


not a judge of wines, and the education of my palate 
has, unfortunately, been neglected, but I believe, how- 
ever, that this wine is worthy of a place on a king’s 
table : it is of a fine topaz color, sparkling as the smile 
of a child. I see it now, in its large bulging carafe, 
on the shining linen cloth. It lighted the table and we 
were able to sup without any other illumination. I 
never drank much of it, because it was heady; and yet, 
at the end of a meal, I have recited some of Anacreon’s 
verses and I have discovered remains of beauty in the 
moon-shaped face of the gross Maroula. 

I ate with Christodule and his family. There were 
four regular boarders and one table boarder. The 
first floor was divided into four rooms, the best of 
which was occupied by a French Archaeologist, M. 
Hippolyte Merinay. If all Frenchmen resemble this 
one, you would be a sorry lot. He was very small; 
his age, as far as one could tell, anywhere between 
eighteen and forty-five, very red-haired, very mild, 
very loquacious, and never loosening his moist and 
warm hands, when he had once fastened them on a 
person, until he had exhausted himself talking. His 
two dominant passions were archaeology and philan- 
thropy: he was a member of many literary societies 
and of many benevolent associations. Although he 
w^as an advocate of charity, and his parents had left 
him a fine income, I do not remember ever to have 
seen him give a sou to a beggar. As for his knowl- 
edge of archaeology, I believe that it was of more ac- 
count than \iis love for humanity. He had received a 
prize from some provincial College, for a treatise on 


14 THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 

the value of paper in the time of Orpheus. Encour- 
aged by these first successes, he had come to Greece to 
gather material for a more important work: it was 
nothing less than to determine the quantity of oil con- 
sumed in Demosthenes’ lamp while he wrote the sec- 
ond Philippic. 

My two other neighbors were not so wise, and an- 
cient things disturbed them not at all. Gia- 
como Fondi was a poor Maltese employed at, I know 
not what consulate; he earned a hundred and fifty 
francs a month sealing letters. I imagine that any 
other employment would have pleased him better. 
Nature, who has peopled the Island of Malta in order 
that the Orient should never lack porters, had given 
to poor Fondi the shoulders, arms and hands of a 
Milo of Crotona: he was born to handle a club, and 
not to melt sealing-wax with which to seal letters. He 
used, however, two or three sticks every day: man is 
not the master of his destiny! The islander out of 
his sphere, was in his element only at meal-time; he 
helped Maroula to place the table, and you will under- 
stand, without being told, that he always carried it at 
arms-length. He ate like the hero of the Iliad, and I 
shall never forget the cracking of his huge jaws, the 
dilation of his nostrils, the flash of his eyes, the white- 
ness of his thirty-two teeth, formidable mill-stones of 
which he was the mill. I ought to confess that I re- 
member little of his conversation ; one easily found the 
limit of his intelligence, but one never found the 
bounds of his appetite. Christodule had never made 
anything during the four years he had boarded him. 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


15 


although the Maltese had paid ten francs a month 
extra. The insatiable islander ate every day, after 
dinner, an enormous plateful of nuts, which he cracked 
between his first finger and thumb. Christodule, old 
soldier, but practical man, followed this exercise with a 
mixture of admiration and fear; he trembled for his 
dessert, yet he was proud to see, at his table, so huge a 
nut-cracker. The face of Giacomo Fondi would not 
have been out of place in one of the jumping-jack 
boxes, which so amuse children. It was whiter than a 
negro’s; but it was a question of shade only. His thick 
locks descended to his eye-brows like a cap. In 
strange contrast, this Caliban had a very small foot, a 
slender ankle, a fine-shaped leg and as perfect as one 
finds in a statue; but these were details which one 
scarcely noticed. For whoever had seen him eat, his 
person began at the edge of the table; the rest of the 
body counted for nothing. 

I can speak only from memory of William Lobster. 
He was a cherub of twenty years, blonde, rosy and 
chubby, but a cherub of the United States of America. 
The firm of Lobster and Sons, New York, had sent 
him to the Orient to study the subject of exportation. 
He worked during the day in the house of , Philips 
Brothers; in the evening, he read Emerson; in the 
early morning or at sunrise he went to Socrates’ school 
to practice pistol-shooting. 

The most interesting person in our little colony was 
without doubt, John Harris, the maternal uncle of the 
little Lobster. The first time that I dined with this 
strange man, I was greatly taken with the American. 


16 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


He was born at Vandalia, Illinois. Breathing the in- 
vigorating air of the new world from his birth, his 
every movement was joyous. I do not know whether 
the Harris family was rich or poor; whether the son 
went to College, or whether he educated himself. 
What was certain was, that at twenty-eight he relied on 
himself alone; was astonished at nothing; believed 
nothing impossible; never flinched; was amenable to 
reason; hoped for the best; attempted everything; 
triumphed in everything! If he fell, he immediately 
jumped up; if he stammered, he began all over again; 
he gave himself no rest; never lost courage, and went 
right ahead. He was well-educated, had been teacher, 
lawyer, journalist, miner, farmer, clerk. He had read 
everything, seen everything, tried everything, and had 
traveled over more than half of the globe. When I 
made his acquaintance he was commanding a Dis- 
patch-boat, carrying sixty men and four cannons. He 
wrote of the Orient in the Boston Review; he trans- 
acted business with an indigo house in Calcutta, and 
yet he found time to come, four or five times a week, 
to dine with his nephew. Lobster, and with us. 

A single instance, of a thousand, will serve to show 
his character. Early in the fifties he was in business 
in Philadelphia. His nephew, who was then seven- 
teen, made him a visit. He found him near Washing- 
ton Square, standing with his hands in his pockets, be- 
fore a burning building. William touched him on the 
shoulder; he turned. 

“Ah' Good-morning, Bill, thou hast arrived inop- 
portunely, my boy. There is a fire which ruins me; I 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


17 


have forty thousand dollars in that house ; we will not 
save a match.’^ 

“What will you do?” asked the astonished boy. 

“What will I do? It is eleven o’clock, I am hungry, 
I have a little money in my pocket; I am going to take 
you to breakfast.” 

Harris was one of the most slender and most ele- 
gant men I have ever seen. He had a manly air, a 
fine forehead, a clear and proud eye. 

Americans are never deformed nor mean-looking, 
and do you know why? Because they are not bound 
in the swaddling-clothes of a narrow civilization. Their 
m.inds and their bodies develop at will; their school- 
room is the open air; their master, exercise; their 
nurse, liberty. 

I never cared especially for M. Merinay; I looked 
at Giacomo Fondi with the indifferent curiosity with 
which one gazes at foreign animals; the little Lobster 
inspired me with luke-warm interest; but I conceived 
a warm affection for Harris. His frank face, his simple 
manners, his sternness which was not without sweet- 
ness, his hasty yet chivalrous temper, the oddities of 
his humor, the enthusiasm of his sentiments, appealed 
to me more strongly as I was neither enthusiastic nor 
hasty. We admire in others what we lack ourselves. 
Giacomo wore white clothes because he was black; 
I adore Americans because I am a German. As for 
the Greeks, I knew little of them even after four 
months’ sojourn in their country. Nothing is easier 
than living in Athens without coming in contact with 
the natives. I did not go to a cafe ; I did not read the 


18 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


Pandore, nor the Minerve; nor any other paper of 
the country; I did not go to the theater, because I have 
a sensitive ear and a false note hurts me more cruelly 
than a blow; I lived with my hosts, my herbarium, 
and with John Harris. I could have presented myself 
at the Palace, thanks to my diplomatic pass-port and 
my official title. I had sent my card to the Master and 
Mistress of Ceremonies, and I could count upon an 
invitation • to the first Court Ball. I kept in reserve 
for this occasion, a beautiful red coat, embroidered with 
silver, which my Aunt Rosenthaler had given to me the 
night before my departure. It was her husband’s 
uniform; he was an assistant in a Scientific Institute, 
and prepared the specimens. My good aunt, a woman 
of great sense, knew that a uniform was well received 
in all countries, above all if it was red. My elder 
brother had remarked that I was larger than my uncle, 
as the sleeves were too short; but Papa quickly re- 
plied, that only the silver embroidery would catch the 
eye, and that princesses would not examine the uni- 
form closely. 

Unfortunately, the Court was not dancing that sea- 
son. The winter pleasures were the flowering of al- 
mond, peach, and lemon trees. Tliere was a vague 
report of a ball to be given the 15th of May; it made 
a stir in the city, as a few semi-official journals took 
it up; but there was nothing positively known about 
it. 

My studies kept pace with my pleasures, slowly. 
I knew, by heart, the Botanical Gardens of Athens; 
they were neither very beautiful nor very full; it was 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


19 


a subject soon mastered. The Royal Gardens offered 
far more to study: an intelligent Frenchman had col- 
lected for it all the riches of the vegetable kingdom, 
from the palms of the West Indies to the saxifrage of 
the North. I passed whole days there studying M. 
Barraud^s collections. The garden is public only at 
certain hours; but I spoke Greek to the guards, and 
for love of the Greek, they permitted me to enter. M. 
Barraud did not seem to weary of my company; he 
took me everywhere for the pleasure of discussing 
Botany and speaking French. In his absence, I hunt- 
ed up the head gardener and questioned him in Ger- 
man: it is well to be polyglot. 

I searched for plants every day in the surrounding 
country, but never as far from the city as I should 
like to have gone; there were many brigands around 
Athens. I am not a coward, the following story will 
prove it to you, but I love my life. It is a present 
which I received from my parents ; I wish to preserve 
it as long as possible, in remembrance of my father arid 
mother. In the month of April, 1856, it was dangerous 
to go far from the city: it was even imprudent to live 
outside. I did not venture upon the slopes of Lyca- 
bettus without thinking of poor Mme. Daraud who 
was robbed in broad day-light. The hills of Daphne 
recalled to me the capture of two French officers. Up- 
on the road to Piraeus, I thought, involuntarily, of 
the band of brigands who traveled in six carriages as if 
on a pleasure tour, and who shot at passers by from the 
coach doors. The road to Pentelicus recalled the stop- 
ping of the Duchess de Plaisance, or the recent story 


20 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


of Harris and Lobster’s adventure. They were re- 
turning from an excursion, on two Persian horses be- 
longing to Harris, when they fell into an ambuscade. 
Two brigands, weapons in hand, stopped them in the 
middle of a bridge. They glanced all around and saw 
at their feet, in a ravine, a dozen rascals, armed to the 
teeth, who were guarding fifty or sixty prisoners. All 
who had passed that way since sunrise had been 
despoiled, then bound, so that no one could escape to 
give the alarm. Harris and his nephew were unarmed. 
Harris said to the young man in English; “Give up 
your money; it will not pay to be killed for twenty 
dollars.” The brigands took the money, without let- 
ting go the bridles; they then showed the Americans 
the ravine and signed to them to descend. Harris 
now lost patience; it was repugnant to him to be 
bound; he was not the kind of wood of which one 
makes fagots. He looked at the little Lobster, and at 
the same instant, two fist blows like two chain-shots, 
struck the heads of the two brigands. William’s ad- 
versary fell over on his back, at the same time, dis- 
charging his pistol; Harris’ brigand, struck more 
forcibly, toppled over the cliff and fell among his com- 
rades. Harris and Lobster were by this time quite a 
distance away, jamming the spurs into their horses. 
The band rose as one man and discharged their wea- 
pons. The horses were killed, the young men disen- 
gaged themselves, took to their heels, and when they 
reached the city, warned the police, who started in pur- 
suit of the brigands the second morning after. 

Our excellent Christodule learned with grief of the 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


21 


death of the two horses; but he found not a word of 
blame for the killers. ‘‘What would you have?” he 
asked with charming simplicity, “it is their business.” 
All Greeks are, more or less, of our host’s opinion. 
It is not that the brigands spare their countrymen and 
reserve their harshness for strangers, but a Greek, 
robbed by his brother, says to himself with a certain 
resignation, that the money is all in the family. The 
populace sees itself plundered by the brigands, as a 
woman of the people who is beaten by her husband, 
admires him because he strikes hard. Native mor- 
alists complained of the excesses committed in the 
country, as a father deplores his son’s pranks. He 
groans loudly, but secretly admires him; he would be 
ashamed if he was like his neighbor’s son who never 
had to be spoken to. 

It was a fact, that at the time of my arrival, the hero 
of Athens was the scourge of Attica. In the salons 
and in the cafes, in the barber-shops where the com- 
mon people congregated, at the pharmacies where the 
bourgeoise were to be found, in the muddy streets of 
the bazars, in the dusty square of Belle-Grece, at the 
theater, at the Sunday concerts, and upon the road 
to Patissia, one heard only of the great Hadgi-Stavros ; 
one swore only by Hadgi-Stavros; Hadgi-Stavros the 
invincible, Hadgi-Stavros the terror of the police, 
Hadgi-Stavros, “The King of the Mountains!” They 
almost composed (God pardon me) a litany on Hadgi- 
Stavros. 

One Sunday, a little while after his adventure, John 
Harris dined with us ; I started Christodule upon the 


22 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


subject of Hadgi-Stavros. Our host had often visited 
him, years before, during the War of Independence, 
when brigandage was less discussed than now. 

He emptied his glass of Sautorin, stroked his gray 
mustache, and began a long recital, interspersed with 
many sighs. He informed us that Stavros was the 
son of a bishop or priest of the Greek Church, in the 
island of Tino. He was born God knew in what year; 
Greeks of early times knew not their ages, because 
registries of the civil state are an invention of the de- 
cadence. His father, who destined him for the Church, 
taught him to read. Wlien about twenty years of age, 
he made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and added to his 
name the title, Hadgi; which means, pilgrim. Hadgi- 
Stavros, returning to his own country, was taken pris- 
oner by a pirate. The conqueror found him amenable 
to reason and make a sailor of him. Thus he began 
to make war on Turkish ships, and, generally, on those 
which had not mounted guns. At the end of several 
years, he tired of working for others, and determined 
to push out for himself. He possessed neither boat, 
nor money to buy one; necessity compelled him to 
practice piracy on land. The rising of the Greeks 
against Turkey permitted him to fish in troubled wat- 
ers. He never could tell exactly whether he was a 
brigand or an insurgent; whether he commanded a 
band of thieves or insurrectionists. His hatred of the 
Turks did not blind him to the degree that he could 
pass a Greek village without seeing it and sacking it. 
All money was good to him, whether it came from 
friend or foe, from a simple theft or a glorious pillage. 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


23 


Such wise impartiality rapidly increased his fortune. 
The shepherds hastened to place themselves under 
his banner, when they learned that good pay might 
be expected; his reputation brought him an army. 
The leaders of the insurrection knew of his exploits, 
but not of his thrift: in those times, one saw only the 
bright side of everything. Lord Byron dedicated an 
ode to him; poets and orators in Paris compared him 
to Epaminondas, and even to poor Aristides. Some 
sent him embroidered clothes from the Faubourg 
Saint-Germain; others sent subsidies. He received 
money from France, from England and from Russia; 
I will not swear that he never received any from Tur- 
key: he was a true Palikar! At the end of the war, he was 
besieged, with other chiefs, in the Acropolis at Athens. 
He slept in the propyleum, between Margaritis and 
Lygandas, and each had his treasure hid in the blanket 
which covered him. One summer night, the roof fell 
so cleverly that it killed every one but Hadgi-Stavros, 
who was smoking his pipe in the open air. He secured 
his companions' money and every one thought that he 
well deserved it. But a misfortune which he had not 
foreseen checked his successful career: peace was de- 
clared. Hadgi-Stavros retired to th^ country with his 
spoils, and became a spectator of strange occurrences. 
The powers which had freed Greece attempted to 
found a kingdom. Some offensive words came buz- 
zing around the hairy ears of the old robber; he heard 
rumors of government — of armies — of public order. He 
laughed when told that his possessions were included 
in one sub-prefecture. But when an employee from the 


24 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


Treasury presented himself to collect the yearly taxes, 
he became serious. He threw the man out of the door, 
not without having relieved him of all he had brought 
with him. Justice sought to punish him; he took to 
the mountains. It was as well, for he was tired of his 
house. He felt, to a certain extent, that he owned a 
roof, but on condition that he slept above it. 

His former companions-in-arms had scattered all 
over the kingdom. The State had given them lands; 
they cultivated them reluctantly and ate sparingly of 
the bitter bread of labor. When they learned that their 
chief was at variance with the law, they sold their farms 
and hastened to join him. As for the brigand, he rented 
his lands: he had the qualifications of an administra- 
tor. 

Peace and idleness had made him ill and unhappy. 
The mountain air restored his cheerfulness and health, 
so that in 1840 he thought of marriage. He was, 
assuredly, past fifty, but men of his temper have noth- 
ing to do with old age; death, even, looks at them 
twice before it attacks them. He married an heir- 
ess with a magnificent dowry, from one of the best 
families in Laconia, and thus became allied to the 
highest personages of the kingdom. His wife fol- 
lowed him everywhere. After giving birth to a daugh- 
ter, she took a fever and died. He brought up the 
child himself, with all the care and tenderness 
of a mother. When the brigands saw him dancing the 
babe on his knees, they exclaimed with admiration. 

Paternal love gave a new impetus to his mind. In 
order to amass a royal dowry for his daughter, he 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


25 


studied the money question, about which he had pre- 
viously held very primitive views. Instead of hoard- 
ing up his treasures in strong boxes, he put them out 
at interest. He learned all the ins and outs of specu- 
lation; he followed closely the stock-market at home 
and abroad. It is asserted that, struck with the ad- 
vantages of the French joint-stock company, he even 
thought of placing brigandage on the market. He 
made many journeys to Europe, in the company of a 
Greek from Marseilles who served as interpreter. Dur- 
ing his stay in England, he assisted at an election in, 
I know not what rotten borough of Yorkshire; this 
beautiful spectacle inspired him with profound reflec- 
tions on constitutional government and its profits. He 
returned to Greece determined to exploit his theories 
and gain an income for himself. He burned a goodly 
number of villages in the service of the opposition; 
he destroyed a few others in the interests of the con- 
servative party. When it was considered desirable to 
overthrow a ministry, it was only necessary to apply 
to him; he proved, conclusively, that the police were 
very corrupt and that safety could only be obtained by 
changing the Cabinet. But in revenge, he gave some 
rude lessons to the enemies of order in punishing them 
in whatever way they had sinned. His political talents 
made him so well known, that all parties held him in 
high esteem. His counsels, his election methods, were 
nearly always followed; so well that, contrary to the 
principle of the government representative, who wished 
one deputy to express the wishes of many men; he 
was represented, he alone, by about thirty deputies. 


26 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


An intelligent Minister, the celebrated Rhalettis, sug- 
gested that a man who meddles so officiously in gov- 
ernment affairs, might possibly, sometime, derange the 
machine. He undertook to bind his hands with gol- 
den cord. He made an arrangement to meet him at 
Carvati; between Hymettus and Pentelicus, in the 
country-house of a Foreign Consul. Hadgi-Stavros 
came, without escort and without arms. The minis- 
ter and the brigand, who were old acquaintances, 
breakfasted together like two old friends. At the end 
of the meal, Rhalettis offered to him full amnesty for 
himself and his followers, a brevet of General of Divis- 
ion, title of Senator, and ten thousand hectares of 
forests. The Palikar hesitated some time, and at last 
said: “I should, perhaps, have accepted at twenty, but 
to-day, I am too old. I do not wish, at my age, to 
change my manner of living. Dusty Athens does not 
please me, I should go to sleep in the Senate-chamber, 
and if you should give me soldiers to command, I might 
discharge my pistols into their uniforms from force of 
habit. Return then, to your own affairs, and leave me 
to attend to mine.” 

Rhalettis would not own that he was beaten. He 
tried to enlighten the brigand as to the infamy of his 
life. Hadgi-Stavros laughed and said with amiability: 

“My friend, the day when we shall write down our 
sins, which will have the longest list?” 

“You think, then, that you will cheat destiny; you 
will die, some day or other, a violent death.” 

“Gracious Lord;” (Allah Kerin;) he replied in Turk- 
ish. “Neither you nor I have read the stars. But I 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


27 


have at least one advantage: my enemies wear a uni- 
form and I recognize them afar off. You cannot say 
as much for yours. Adieu, brother.” 

Six months afterward, the Minister was assassinated 
by political enemies; the brigand still lived. 

Our host did not relate to us all the exploits of his 
hero: the day was not long enough. He contented 
himself by relating the most remarkable ones. I do 
not believe that in any other country the rivals of 
Hadgi-Stavros had ever done anything more artistic 
than the capture of the Niebuhr. It was a steamer of 
the German-Lloyd which the Palikar had robbed on 
land, at eleven o’clock in the morning. The Niebuhr 
came to Constantinople ; it unloaded its cargo and pas- 
sengers at Calamaki, east of the Isthmus of Corinth. 
Four vans and two omnibusses took the passengers 
and merchandise to the other side of the Isthmus, to 
the little port of Loutraki, where another ship awaited 
them. It waited a long time. Hadgi-Stavros, in broad 
daylight, in plain view of all the world, in a flat and 
open country, relieved them of their merchandise, their 
luggage, their money and the ammunition of the sol- 
diers who escorted the company. 

“That day’s work brought two hundred and fifty 
francs;” said Christodule to us in a tone of envy. 

Much was said of Hadgi-Stavros’ cruelties. His 
friend Christodule proved to us that he did not do 
wrong for pleasure. He was a sober man, who never 
became intoxicated, not even of blood. If it happened 
that he warmed, a little too much, a rich peasant’s 
feet, it was that he might learn where the miser hid 


28 THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 

his ecus. In general, he treated with kindness the 
prisoners for whom he hoped to receive a ransom. 
In the summer of '54, he descended one evening, with 
his band, to M. Voidi’s house; he was a rich merchant 
from the Isle of Eubee. He found the family assem- 
bled, also an old judge of the Tribunal of Chalcis was 
present, taking a hand at cards with the master of the 
house. Hadgi-Stavros offered to play the magistrate 
for his liberty; he lost, and accepted with good grace.” 
He carried off M. Voidi, his daughter and son; he left 
the wife that she might busy herself procuring the ran- 
som. The day of the attack, the merchant had the 
gout, the daughter was ill of a fever, and the son was 
pale and puffy. They returned two months afterward, 
cured by exercise, the open air, and good entertain- 
ment. The whole family recovered health for a sum of 
fifty thousand francs: was it paying too high a price? 

“I confess,” added Christodule, “that our friend was 
without pity for poor payers. When a ransom was 
not paid on the appointed day, he promptly killed his 
prisoners; it was his way of protesting notes. How- 
ever great may be my admiration for him, how- 
ever warm the friendship between our two families, I 
have never pardoned him the murder of Mistra’s two 
little daughters. Tliey were twins of fourteen, pretty 
as two marble statues, both betrothed to two young men 
of the Leondari family. They resembled each other so 
exactly, that one thought one saw double and began to 
rub one’s eyes. One morning, they went to sell co- 
coons; they carried between them a large basket, and 
they skimmed lightly over the road like two doves 


the king op the mountains. 29 

attached to the same car. Hadgi-Stavros took them to 
the mountain and wrote a letter to their mother, that 
he would return them for ten thousand francs, pay- 
able the end of the month. The mother was a well- 
to-do-widow, owner of fine mulberry groves, but poor 
in ready money, as we all are. She mortgaged her 
property, which is never easy to do, even at twenty 
per cent interest. It took her six weeks to gather up 
the sum required. When at last, she had the money, 
she loaded it on her mule and departed on foot for the 
brigand’s camp. But on entering the large valley of 
the Taygete at the point where one finds seven foun- 
tains under a plane-tree, the mule absolutely refused to 
stir. Then the mother saw at the border of the path, 
her little girls. Their throats had been cut and their 
pretty heads were almost dissevered. She took the two 
poor creatures, put them, herself, upon the mule’s back 
and carried them back to Mistra. She never wept; 
she became deranged, and died. I know that Hadgi- 
Stavros regretted what he had done; he believed that 
the widow was richer than she pretended, and that she 
did not wish to pay. He killed the two girls as an ex- 
ample. It is certain that, from that time, his outstand- 
ing debts were promptly paid and that no one dared to 
make him wait.” 

“Vile beast!” cried Giacomo, bringing his fist down 
with a force which made the house tremble as from an 
earthquake. “If ever he falls under my hand, I will 
serve him with a ransom of ten thousand blows of the 
fist, which will enable him to withdraw himself from 
public life.” 


30 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


'‘I,” said the little Lobster with his quiet smile, “I 
will only ask to meet him at fifty paces from my revol- 
ver. And you, Uncle John?’’ 

Harris whistled between his teeth a little American 
air, sharp as a stiletto point. 

“Can I believe my ears?” added the good M. M'eri- 
nay in his flute-like voice. “Is it possible that such 
horrors are committed in a country like ours? I am 
convinced that the Society for the Moralization of 
Malefactors has not yet been organized in this king- 
dom; but while waiting for that, have you not po- 
lice?” 

“Certainly,” replied Christodule, “fifty officers, 152 
sergeants, and 1250 policemen, of whom 152 are 
mounted. It is the finest band of men in the kingdom 
after that belonging to Hadgi-Stavros.” 

“What astonishes me,” I said in my turn, “is, that 
the old rascal’s daughter allows him to do such things.” 

“She does not live with him.” 

“Well and good: Where is she?” 

“At a boarding-school.” 

“In Athens?” 

“You ask too much; I have known nothing of her 
for some time. Whoever marries her will receive a 
fine dowry with her.” 

“Yes,” said Harris. “One can say as well that Cal- 
craft’s daughter is a good match.” 

“Who is Calcraft?” 

“The Headsman of London.” 

At these words, Dimitri, Christodule’s son, reddened 
to the roots of his hair. “Pardon, Monsieur,” he said 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


31 


to John Harris, “there is a great difference between a 
headsman and a brigand. The business of a heads- 
man is infamous; the profession of a brigand is hon- 
ored. The government is obliged to guard the heads- 
man of Athens in the fort Palamede or he would be 
assassinated; while no one wishes evil to Hadgi-Stav- 
ros, and the most respectable people in the kingdom 
would be proud to shake hands with him.'’ 

Harris opened his mouth to reply, when the shop 
bell rung. It was the servant who had entered with a 
young girl of fifteen or sixteen, dressed like the latest 
fashion-plate in the Journal des Modes. Dimitri said, 
as he rose from his chair: “It is Photini!” 

“Messieurs,” said the pastry-cook, “talk of some- 
thing else, if you please. Histories of brigands are not 
for young girls to hear.” 

Christodule presented Photini to us as the daughter 
of one of his companions-in-arms. Colonel Jean, com- 
manding at Nauplie. She called herself then, Pho- 
tini; daughter of Jean, according to the custom of the 
country, where there were, properly speaking, no fam- 
ily names. 

The young maid was ugly, as were nine-tenths of the 
Athenian girls. She had pretty teeth and beautiful 
hair, but that was all. Her thick-set body did not look 
well in a Parisian corset. Her feet, which were large, 
thick, and ill-shaped, were made for wearing Turkish 
slippers, and not to be compressed into the shoes of the 
fashionable boot-maker, Meyer. She was as dull- 
looking as if an imprudent nurse had committed the 
fault of sitting down on her face, when an infant. 


S2 THE KINO OF THE MOUNTAINS. 

Fashion is not becoming to all women; it made the 
poor Photini almost ridiculous. Her flounced dress, 
extended over a huge crinoline, accentuated the 
clumsiness of her body and the awkwardness of her 
movements. Jewels from the Palais Royal with which 
she was decked seemed like exclamation points, des- 
tined to point out the imperfections of her body. You 
would have said that she was a stout and coarse 
servant-girl, masquerading in her mistress’ clothes. 

We were not astonished to see the daughter of a 
simple Colonel so extravagantly and gorgeously ar- 
rayed, come to pass Sunday at a pastry-cook’s. We 
knew enough of the country to fully realize that dress 
was the incurable evil of Greek society. Country 
girls pierced silver pieces, strung them together and 
wore them upon the head on gala days. They carried 
their dowries on their heads. The city girls spent their 
money in the shops and carried their dowries on their 
backs. 

Photini was in a boarding-school at Hetairie. It is, 
as you know, a school established on the model of the 
Legion of Honor, but regulated by rules broader and 
more tolerant. Usually, only daughters of soldiers 
were taught there, sometimes, also, brigands’ heiresses. 

Colonel Jean’s daughter knew a little French and a 
little English; but her timidity did not permit of her 
shining in conversation. I learned later, that her 
family counted upon us to perfect her in these foreign 
tongues. Her father, having learned that Christodule 
boarded honorable and educated Europeans, had 
begged the pastry-cook to allow her to pass her Sun- 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


33 


days with his family, and he would see that he was 
recompensed. This bargain pleased Christodule, and 
above all, his son, Dimitri. The young man, working 
in a servant’s place, devoured her with his eyes, while 
the heiress never perceived it. 

We had made arrangements to go, all together, to 
a concert. It is a fine spectacle when the Athenians 
give themselves up to Sunday pleasures. The entire 
population, in gala dress, turns out into the dusty 
fields, to hear waltzes and quadrilles played by a regi- 
ment band. The poor go on foot, the rich in car- 
riages, the fashionable men on horseback. The Court 
would not have stayed away for an empire. After the 
last quadrille, each returned to his home, clothes cov- 
ered with dust, but with happy hearts, and said: ^‘We 
have been very well amused.” 

It was certain that Photini counted on showing her- 
self at the concert, and her admirer, Dimitri, was not 
ashamed to appear with her; for he wore a new redin- 
gote which he had just bought at the Belle-Jardiniere. 
Unfortunately, it rained so steadily, that it kept us at 
home. To kill time, Maroula offered to let us play 
for bonbons; it is a favorite amusement among the 
middle classes. She took a glass jar from the shop, 
and gave to each one a handful of native bonbons, 
cloves, anise seed, pepper, and chicory. Then, the 
cards were dealt, and the first who collected nine of the 
same color, received three sugar plums from each of 
his adversaries. The Maltese, Giacomo, showed by 
his eagerness, that the winning was not a matter of in- 
difference to him. Chance favored him; he made a 


34 THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 

fortune, and we saw him gulp down six or eight hand- 
fuls of bonbons which he had won from the rest of us. 

I took little interest in the game, and concentrated 
my attention upon the curious phenomenon taking 
place on my left. While the glances which the young 
Athenian, Dimitri, cast upon Photini, were met with 
perfect indifference, Harris, who did not even look at 
her, seemed to produce a wonderful impression upon 
her, even to almost magnetize her. He held his cards 
with a nonchalant air, yawning, from time to time, 
with American freedom, or whistling Yankee Doodle, 
without respect for the company. I believe that Christ- 
odule’s story had made a great impression on him, and 
that his thoughts were roving over the mountains in 
pursuit of Hadgi-Stavros. In any case, whatever his 
thoughts were, they were not of love. Perhaps the 
young girl was not thinking of it either, for Greek 
women nearly always have in their hearts a substratum 
of indifference. She looked at my friend John, as a 
lark looks at a mirror. She did not know him; she 
knew nothing of him, neither his name, his country, 
nor his fortune. She had not heard him speak, and 
even if she had heard him, she certainly was not com- 
petent to judge of his ability. She saw that he was 
very handsome, and that was enough. Formerly, 
Greeks adored beauty; it was the only one of their 
duties which had never had any atheists. The Greeks 
of to-day, despite the decadence, know how to dis- 
tinguish an Apollo from a baboon. One finds in M. 
FauriePs collection, a little song which may be trans- 
lated thus: 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


35 


“Young man, do you wish to know; young girls, 
would you like to learn, how love enters into our 
hearts? It enters by the eyes; from the eyes it de- 
scends to the heart, and in the heart it takes root!” 

Decidedly, Photini knew the song; for she opened 
her eyes wide, so that love could enter without trouble. 

The rain did not cease to fall, nor Dimitri to ogle the 
young girl, nor the young girl to gaze, wide-eyed, at 
Harris, nor Giacomo to eat bonbons, nor M. Merinay 
to relate to the little Lobster, who did not listen, a 
chapter from Ancient History. At eight o’clock, 
Maroula laid the cloth for supper. Photini had Dimitri 
on her left, I sat at her right. She talked but little and 
ate nothing. At dessert, when the servant spoke of 
taking her home, she made a great effort and said to 
me in a low tone: 

“Is M. Harris married?” 

I took a wicked pleasure in embarrassing her a little, 
so I replied: 

“Yes, Mademoiselle; he married the widow of the 
Doges of Venice.’^ 

“Is it possible; how old is she?” 

“She is as old as the world, and as everlasting.” 

“Do not mock me; I am a poor, foolish girl, and I 
do not understand your European pleasantries.” 

“In other words. Mademoiselle, he is wedded to the 
sea; it is he who commands the American boat, ‘The 
Fancy,’ stationed here.” 

She thanked me with such a flash of radiant joy 
passing over her face, that her ugliness was eclipsed, 
and I thought she looked absolutely pretty. 


86 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


III. 

MARY-ANN. 

The studies of my youth have developed in me one 
passion, to the exclusion of all others; the desire to 
know; or if you like the term better, call it curiosity. 
From the day when I embarked for Athens, my only 
pleasure was to learn; my only grief, ignorance. I 
loved science ardently, and no one, as yet, had dis- 
puted her claim in my heart. I must confess that I 
had little tenderness and that poetry and Hermann 
Schultz rarely entered the same door. I went about 
the world, as in a vast museum, magnifying glass in 
hand. I observed the pleasures and sufferings of 
others as emotions worthy of study, but unworthy of 
envy or pity. I was no more jealous of a^happy house- 
hold, than of two palm trees with branches interlaced 
by the wind; I had just as much compassion for a 
heart torn by love, as I had for a geranium ruined by 
the frost. When one has practiced vivisection, one is 
no longer sensitive to the quivering of the flesh. I 
would have been a good spectator at a combat of 
gladiators. Photini’s love for Harris would have 
aroused pity in any heart but a naturalist’s. The poor 
creature “loved at random,” to quote a beautiful say- 
ing of Henry IV; and it was evident that she loved 
hopelessly. She was too timid to display her affection, 
and John was too indifferent to divine it. Even if he 
had noticed anything, what hope was there that he 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


37 


would feel any interest in an ugly Greek girl? Photini 
passed four days with us; the four Sundays of April. 
She looked at Harris from morning to night, with 
loving but despairing eyes; but she never found the 
courage to open her mouth in his presence. Harris 
whistled tranquilly, Dimitri growled like a young bull- 
dog, and I smilingly looked on at this strange malady, 
from which my constitution had preserved me. 

In the meantime, my father had written me that his 
affairs were not going well ; that travelers were scarce ; 
that food was dear; that our neighbors were about to 
emigrate; and that, if I had found a Russian princess, 
I had better marry her without delay. I replied that 
I had not, as yet, found one, unless it was the daughter 
of a poor Greek Colonel; that she was seriously in 
love, not with me, but with another; that I could by 
paying her a little attention become her confidant, but 
that I should never become her husband. Moreover, 
my health w'as good and my herbarium magnificent. 
My researches, hitherto restricted to the suburbs of 
Athens, would now become more extended. Safety 
was assured, the brigands had been beaten by the 
soldiers, and all the journals announced the disper- 
sion of Hadgi-Stavros’ band. A month or two later, 
I should be able to set out for Germany, and find a 
place which would pay enough to support the whole 
family. 

We had read on Sunday the 28th of April, in the 
Siecle of Athens, of the complete defeat of “The King 
of the Mountains.^’ The official reports stated that he 
had twenty men wounded, his camp burned, his band 


38 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


dispersed, and that the troops had pursued him as far 
as the marshes near Marathon. These reports, very 
agreeable to all strangers, did not appear to give much 
pleasure to the Greeks, and especially to our host and 
hostess. Christodule, for a lieutenant of troops, showed 
lack of enthusiasm, and Colonel Jean’s daughter wept 
when the story of the brigand’s defeat was read. Har- 
ris, who had brought in the paper, could not conceal 
his joy. As for me, I could roam about the country 
now, and I was enchanted. On the morning of the 
30th, I set out with my box and my walking stick. 
Dimitri had awakened me at four o’clock. He was 
going to take orders from an English family, who had 
been staying for some days at the Hotel dcs Etrangers. 

I walked down the Rue d’ Hermes to the Square, 
Belle-Grece, and passed through the Rue d’ Eole. 
Passing before the Place des Canons, I saluted the 
small artillery of the kingdom, who slept under a shed, 
dreaming of the taking of Constantinople; and with 
four strides I was in the Rue de Patissia. The honey- 
flowers, which bordered either side, had begun to open 
their odorous blossoms. The sky, of a deep blue, 
whitened imperceptibly between Hymettus and Pen- 
telicus. Before me, on the horizon, the summit of 
Parnassus rose like broken turrets; there was the end 
of my journey. I descended a path which traversed the 
grounds of the Countess Janthe Theotoki, occupied 
by the French Legation; I passed through the gardens 
belonging to Prince Michael Soutzo, and the School 
of Plato, which a President of the Areopagus had put 
up in a lottery some years before, and I entered the 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


39 


olive groves. The morning thrushes and their cousins- 
germain, the black-birds, flew from tree to tree, and 
sang joyously above my head. At the end of the wood, 
I traversed the immense green fields where Attic 
horses, short and squat, like those in the frieze at the 
Parthenon, consoled themselves for the dry fodder and 
the heating food of winter. Flocks of turtle-doves flew 
away at my approach, and the tufted larks mounted 
vertically in the sky like rockets. Once in a while, an 
indolent tortoise crawled across the path, dragging his 
house. I turned him over on his back and left him to 
attend to his own affairs. After two hours^ walking, I 
entered a barren waste. Cultivation ceased; one saw 
upon the arid soil tufts of sickly grass, the Star of 
Bethlehem, or Daffodils. The sun lifted itself above 
the horizon, and I distinctly saw the fir-trees which 
grew on the side of Parnassus. The path which I had 
taken was not a sure guide, but I directed my steps to 
a group of scattered houses on the mountain side, and 
which was called the village of Castia. 

I leaped the Cephise Eleusinien to the great scandal 
of the little tortoises who leaped like frogs into the 
water. A hundred steps further on, the path was lost 
in a deep and wide ravine, worn by the storms of two 
or three thousand winters. I supposed, reasonably 
enough, that the ravine ought to be the right road. I 
had noticed, in my former excursions, that the Greeks 
did not trouble themselves with making roads where 
streams were liable to change them. In this country, 
where man does not oppose the works of nature, tor- 
rents are royal roads; brooks, are department routes; 


40 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


rivulets, are parish-roads. Tempests are the road-con- 
structors, and rain is the surveyor of wide and narrow 
paths. I entered the ravine and walked between two 
river banks, which hid the plain from me. But the 
path had so many turns, that I should not have known 
in which direction I was walking, if I had not kept 
my back to Parnassus. The wisest course would have 
been to climb one bank or the other and ascertain my 
bearings; but the sides were perpendicular, I was 
weary, I was hungry; and I found the shade refreshing. 
I seated myself upon a bowlder of marble, I took from 
my box a piece of bread, some cold lamb, and a gourd 
of wine. I said to myself: ‘Tf I am on the right road, 
some one will pass and I can find out where I am.” 

In fact, just as I had finished lunching, and was 
about to stretch myself out for the rest which follows 
the meal of travelers or serpents, I thought I heard a 
horse’s step. I laid my ear to the ground and heard 
two or three horses coming up the ravine. I buckled 
my box on my back, and made ready to follow them, 
in case they were going towards Parnassus. Five 
minutes afterward, I saw coming toward me, two 
ladies mounted upon livery-horses, and equipped like 
English-women on a journey. Behind them was a 
pedestrian, whom I had no trouble in recognizing; it 
was Dimitri. 

You who know the world a little, you have noticed 
that a traveler starts out without much care for his 
personal appearance; but if he is about to meet ladies, 
though they be as old as the Dove of the Ark, 
he loses, at once, his indifference and looks at his dusty 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


41 


and travel-stained garments with a troubled eye. Be- 
fore even being able to distinguish the faces of the two 
riders, behind their blue veils, I had looked myself 
over, and I was sufficiently satisfied. I wore these 
garments which I have on, and which are even now 
presentable, although that was two years ago. I have 
never changed the fashion of my hair; a cap, although 
as fine and handsome a one as this, would not have 
protected a traveler from the sun. I wore, instead, a 
large gray felt hat, which the dust could not hurt. 

I took it off politely as the ladies passed me. My 
salutation did not appear to trouble them much. I 
held out my hand to Dimitri, and he told me in a few 
words, all that I wished to know. 

“Am I upon the road to Parnassus?” 

“Yes, we are going there.” 

“I can go with you, then?” 

“Why not?” 

“Who are these ladies?” 

“English! Milord is resting at the hotel.” 

“What kind of people are they?” 

“Peugh! London bankers. The old lady is Mrs. 
Simons, of the firm of Barley and Co.; Milord is her 
brother; the young lady is her daughter.” 

“Pretty?” 

“According to taste; I like Photini’s looks better.” 

“Are you going as far as the fortress?” 

“Yes. I am engaged for a week, at ten francs a day 
and board. I organize and arrange their trips. I began 
with this one because I knew that I should meet you. 
But wh^t is the matter with them now?” 


42 THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 

The elder woman, annoyed because I was detain- 
ing her servant, had put her horse to a trot, in a pas- 
sage where no one had ever dared to trot before. The 
other animal, filled with emulation, began to take the 
same gait, and if we had talked a few minutes longer, 
we would have been distanced. Dimitri hastened to 
rejoin the ladies, and I heard Mrs. Simons say to him, 
in English : 

“Do not go away from us. I am English, and I 
wish to be well served. I do not pay you to chat with 
your friends. Who is this Greek with whom you are 
talking?” 

“He is a German, Madame.” 

“Ah! — What is he doing?” 

“He is searching for plants.” 

“He is an apothecary, then?” 

“No, Madame! he is a scholar.” 

“Ah! — Does he know English?” 

“Yes, Madame, very well.” 

“Ah! ” 

The three “ahs!” were said in three different tones 
which I noticed as I would three notes of music. They 
indicated by very noticeable shades the progress which 
I had made in her esteem. She, however, addressed 
no word to me, and I followed them, a few feet distant. 
Dimitri dared not speak to me; he walked ahead like 
a prisoner of war. All that he could do was to cast two 
or three looks in my direction, which seemed to say: 
“But these English are impertinent!” Miss Simons 
did not turn her head, and I was unable to decide in 
what her ugliness differed from Photini’s. All that I 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


43 


could judge was, that the young English girl was large 
and marvelously well-formed. Her shoulders were 
broad, her waist was round, and supple as a reed. The 
little that one could see of her neck, made one think 
of the swans in the Zoological Gardens. 

Her mother turned her head to speak to her, and 
I hastened forward, in hope of hearing her voice. Did 
I not tell you that I was extremely curious? I came 
up with them just in time to hear the following con- 
versation : 

^‘Mary-Ann!’’ 

“Mamma 

“I am hungry.’^ 

“Are you?” 

“I am.” 

“Mamma, I am warm.” 

“Are you?” 

“I am.” 

You believe that this truly English dialogue made 
me smile? Not at all. Monsieur; I was under a spell. 
Mary-Ann’s voice had worked a charm; the truth is 
that as I listened, I experienced a delicious agony, and 
found my heart beating almost to suffocation. In all 
my life, I had never heard anything so young, so fresh, 
so silvery as that voice. The sound of a golden shower 
falling on my fathers roof would have, truly, sounded 
less sweet to me. I thought to myself: “What a mis- 
fortune that the sweetest songsters among birds are 
necessarily the ugliest.” And I feared to see her face, 
and yet I was consumed with eager desire to look 
upon it, such a strong empire has curiosity over me. 


44 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


Dimitri had calculated upon reaching the inn at 
Calyvia at breakfast time. It was a house made of 
planks, loosely put together; but one could always 
find there a goat-skin bottle of resin wine; a bottle of 
rhaki; that is to say, of anise-seed cordial; some brown 
bread ; eggs ; and a regiment of venerable hens trans- 
formed by death into pullets, by virtue of metempsy- 
chosis. Unfortunately, the inn was deserted and the 
door closed. At this news, Mrs. Simons had a bitter 
quarrel with Dimitri, and as she turned around, I saw 
a face as sharp as the blade of a Sheffield knife, with 
two rows of teeth like a palisade. “I am English,’’ she 
said, “and I expect to eat when I am hungry.” • 

“Madame,” Dimitri piteously replied, “you can 
breakfast, in half-an-hour, in the village of Castia.” 

I had breakfasted, and I was free to abandon myself 
to melancholy reflections upon Mrs. Simons’ ugliness, 
and I murmured under my breath an aphorism in 
Fraugman’s Latin Grammar: “Qualis mater, tabs 
filial” 

From the inn to the village, the road was particularly 
detestable. It was a narrow path, between a perpen- 
dicular rock and a precipice, which made even the 
chamois dizzy. Mrs. Simons, before starting out on 
this dangerous path, where the horses could scarcely 
find foot-hold, asked if there was no other way. “I 
am English,’’ she said, “and I was not made to roll 
down precipices.” Dimitri began to praise the path; 
he assured her that there were others a hundred times 
worse in the kingdom. “At least,” said the good lady, 
“take hold of the bridle, But who will lead my 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


45 


daughter? Go and lead my daughter’s horse. Still, 
I must not break my own neck. Can you not lead 
both horses? This path is, truly, horrible. I believe 
that it is good enough for the Greeks, but it was not 
made for the English. Is it not so?” she added, turn- 
ing graciously to me. 

I was introduced. Regularly or not, the presenta- 
tion was made. It happened under the auspices of a 
personage well-known in the romances of the Middle 
Ages, whom the poets of the XIVth century called, 
Danger. I bowed with all the elegance of which I 
was master, and replied in English: 

“Madame, the path is not as bad as it appears at 
first sight. Your horses are sure-footed; I know them, 
as I have ridden them. You may have two guides, if 
you will permit me to lead Mademoiselle, while Dimitri 
leads you.” 

As quickly done as said; without waiting for an 
answer, I boldly advanced and took the bridle of 
Mary-Ann’s horse, and as her blue veil blew back, I 
saw the most adorable face which has ever enchanted 
the sight of a German naturalist. 

An eccentric poet, Aurelian Scholl, pretends that 
every man has in his heart a mass of eggs, in each one 
of which is a love. All that is needed to give life is a 
glance from a woman’s eye. I am too much of a 
scholar to be ignorant of the fact that this hypothesis 
does not rest on sure foundations, and that it is in 
formal contradiction to all the revealed facts of anat- 
omy. I ought to state, however, that Miss Simons’ 
first glance caused a very acute agitation in the region 


46 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


of my heart. I experienced a sensation entirely un- 
usual, and which bore no trace of sadness, and it 
seemed to me that something gave way in the osseous 
formation of my breast, below the bone called, ster- 
num. At the same instant, the blood surged through 
my veins, and the arteries in my temples beat with 
such force that I could count the pulsations. 

What eyes she had! I hope, for your peace of mind, 
that you will never meet a pair like them. They were 
not of unusual size, and they did not draw attention 
from the rest of her face. They were neither blue nor 
black, but of a color especially their own. It was a 
warm and velvety brown, which one sees only in 
Siberian garnets, and in certain garden flowers. I 
could show you a certain scabieuse, and a variety of 
holly-hock, nearly black, which resembles the mar- 
velous shade of her eyes. If you have ever visited a 
forge at midnight, you have, doubtless, remarked the 
strange color which gleams from a red-hot steel plate, 
as it changes to a reddish brown; that too, was like her 
eyes. As for the charm in them, any comparison is 
useless. Charm is a gift with which few individuals 
are endowed. Mary-Ann’s eyes possessed something 
naive and spiritual; a frank vivacity; sparkling with 
youth and health, and sometimes a touching languor. 
One read in them as in a book the knowledge of a 
woman and the innocence of a child; but it would 
have blinded one to have read the book for a long 
time. Her glance burned like fire, as truly as I call 
myself, Hermann. It would have ripened the peaches 
on your garden wall. 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


47 


Words fail when I think that that poor simpleton, 
Dimitri, found her less beautiful than Photini. In 
truth, love is a malady which singularly stupefies its 
victims; I, who had never lost the use of my reason, 
and who judged everything with the wise indifference 
of a naturalist, I confess to you, that the world never 
held as incomparable a woman as Mary-Ann. I would 
like to show you her picture as it is graven in the 
depths of my memory. You would see what long eye- 
lashes she had, how the eye-brows traced a beautiful 
arch above her eyes, how small her mouth was, how 
white her teeth, how rosy and transparent her little 
ear. I studied her beauty in the minutest details, be- 
cause I possess an analytical mind and have formed 
habits of observation. One thing struck me especially, 
it was the fineness and transparency of her skin; it 
was more delicate than the velvety covering which 
envelops beautiful fruits. The color of her cheeks 
seemed made of that impalpable dust which adorns the 
wings of the butterflies. If I had not been a Doctor 
of Natural Sciences, I would have feared that the 
contact of her veil would brush off some of the luster 
of her beauty. I do not know whether you like pale 
women, or not, and I do not wish to hurt your feelings, 
if by chance, you have a taste for that kind of deathly 
looking women who have been the rage, during cer- 
tain periods; but in my quality of savant, I can admire 
nothing without health, that joy of life. If I had be- 
come a doctor, I would have been a safe man to allow 
in any family, because it is certain that I should never 
have fallen in love with any of my patients. The sight 


48 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


of a pretty face, healthy and vivacious, gives me nearly 
as much pleasure as finding a vigorous beautiful bush, 
whose flowers open widely in the sunshine, and whose 
leaves have never been touched by butterfly or cock- 
chafer. So that the first time that I saw Mary-Ann’s 
face, I experienced a strong temptation to take her 
hand and say to her: “Mademoiselle, how happy you 
must be to have such good health.” 

I have forgotten to tell you that the lines of her face 
were not regular, and that her profile was not that of 
a statue. Phidias would, perhaps, have refused to 
make a bust of her; but your Pradier would have 
begged on his knees for sittings. I must confess, at 
the risk of destroying your illusions, that she had a 
dimple in her left cheek, but none in the right; this is 
contrary to all laws of symmetry. Know, moreover, 
that her nose was neither straight nor aquiline, but 
purely retrousse, as French noses are. But that this 
rendered her less pretty, I will deny, even upon the 
scaffold. She was as beautiful as Greek statues are; 
but was entirely different. Beauty cannot be judged 
by one invariable type, although Plato affirms it. It 
varies according to times, according to peoples, and 
according to culture. The Venus de Milo was con- 
sidered, two thousand years ago, the most beautiful 
woman of the Archipelago. I do not believe that, in 
1856, she would have been considered the prettiest 
woman in Paris. Take her to a dressmaker’s in the 
Place Vendome, or to a milliner’s in the Rue de la 
Paix, and in these places she would be less of a suc- 
cess than some other women whose features were not 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


49 


SO classical, and whose nose was not so straight. One 
could admire a woman geometrically beautiful, in the 
days when she was only an object of art destined to 
please the eyes, without appealing to the mind; a bird 
of Paradise at whose plumage one looks, without 
thinking of asking it to sing. A beautiful Athenian 
was as well-proportioned, as white, and as cold, as the 
column of a temple. M. Merinay has shown to m.e, 
in a book, that the Ionic column is only a woman, 
disguised. The portico of the Temple of Erechtee, at 
the Acropolis at Athens, rests upon four Athenian 
women of the century of Pericles. The women of to- 
day are little, winged beings, active, busy, and above 
all, thoughtful; created, not to hold temples on their 
heads, but to awaken genius, to engage in work, to 
animate with courage, and to light the world with the 
flashes of their wit. What we love in them, and what 
makes their beauty, is not regularity of features; it is 
the lively and mobile expression of sentiments, more 
delicate than ours; it is the radiation of thought 
around that fragile envelope, which does not sufflce to 
contain it; it is the quick play of a speaking physiog- 
nomy. I am not a sculptor, but if I knew how to use 
the chisel and one gave me a commission to make a 
statue of our epoch, I swear to you that she would 
have a dimple in her left cheek, and a retrousse nose. 

I led Mary-Ann^s horse to the village of Castia. 
What she said to me on the way, and what I replied, 
left no more impression on my mind, than the flight 
of a swallow leaves on the air. Her voice was so 
sweet to listen to, that I probably did not listen to what 

4 


60 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


she said. It was as if I were at the opera, where the 
music does not often permit one to hear the words. All 
the circumstances of that first interview made an in- 
effaceable impression on my mind. I have only to 
close my eyes to believe that I am still there. The 
April sun shone softly on my head. Above the path, 
and below, the resinous trees disseminated their 
aromatic odors through the air. The pines, the thugas, 
and the turpentine trees gave forth a harsh and acrid 
incense as Mary-Ann passed. She inhaled, with evi- 
dent happiness, nature’s odorous largess. Her dear 
little nose breathed in the fragrance; her eyes, those 
beautiful eyes, roved from object to object with spark- 
ling joy. Seeing her so pretty, so lively, so happy, you 
would have said that a dryad had escaped from its 
wood. I can see now, the horse she rode; it was 
Psari, a white horse from Zimmerman’s. Her habit 
was black; Mrs. Simons’, which showed distinctly 
against the sky, was bottle-green, sufficiently eccentric 
to testify to her independence of taste. She also wore 
a black hat, of that absurd and ungraceful shape worn 
by men of all countries; her daughter wore the gray 
felt adopted by the heroines of the Fronde. Both wore 
chamois gloves. Mary-Ann’s hand was not small, but 
admirably formed. I have never worn gloves, I do 
not like them. And you? 

The village of Castia was as deserted as the 
inn at Calyvia. Dimitri could not understand why. 
We dismounted in front of the church, beside a fount- 
ain. Each went from house to house knocking at the 
doors; not a soul. No one at the priest’s, no one at 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


51 


the magistrate’s. The authorities of the village had 
moved away with the residents. Each house consisted 
of four walls and a roof, with two openings, one of 
which served as door, the other as window. Poor 
Dimitri forced in two or three doors, and opened five 
or six shutters, to assure himself that the inmates were 
not asleep. These incursions resulted in setting free 
an unfortunate cat, forgotten by its master, and which 
departed like a flash in the direction of the wood. 

Soon, Mrs. Simons lost patience. “I am English,” 
she said to Dimitri, “and one does not mock me with 
impunity. I shall complain to the Legation. What! 
I hire you for a trip to the mountains, and you make 
me travel over precipices 1 I order you to bring food, 
and you expose me to starvation! We were to break- 
fast at the inn! The inn is abandoned: I had the 
goodness to follow you, fasting, to this frightful vil- 
lage; and all the inhabitants have fled. All this is un- 
natural. I have traveled in Switzerland: Switzerland 
is a country of mountains; however, nothing was 
lacking there ! and I had trout to eat, do you hear?” 

Mary-Ann tried to calm her mother, but the good 
woman could not and would not listen. Dimitri ex- 
plained to her as fully as she would permit him, that 
the inhabitants of the village were nearly all charcoal- 
burners, and that their business very often took them 
into the mountains. In any case, the time was not 
lost: it was not later than eight o’clock, and they were 
sure to find within ten minutes’ walk an inhabited 
house where breakfast would be all prepared. 

“What house?” demanded Mrs. Simons. 


52 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


“The farm at the Convent. The monks from Pen- 
telicus have broad lands above Castia. They raise bees 
there. The good old man who carries on the farm al- 
ways has wine, bread, honey and fowls; he will give 
us our breakfast.” 

“He may have gone away like everyone else.” 

“If he is away, it will not be far. The time for the 
swarming is near, and he would not wish to lose his 
bees.” 

“Go and see: as for me, I have gone far enough 
since morning. I vow to you that I will not remount 
until after I have eaten.” 

“Madame, you need not remount,” said Dimitri, pa- 
tient as are all guides. “We can hitch our horses to 
the fountain, and we shall quickly reach the place on 
foot.” 

Mary-Ann influenced her mother to consent. She 
was dying to see the good old man, and his apiary. 
Dimitri hitched the horses to the watering trough, 
weighting each bridle with a huge stone. Mrs. Simons 
and her daughter looped up their habits and we started 
up a precipitous path, fit only for the goats of Castia. 
The green lizards which were warming themselves in 
the sun, discreetly retired at our approach, but each 
drew a piercing cry from Mrs. Simons, who had a 
horror of reptiles. After a quarter of an hour of these 
vocalizations, she had, at last, the joy of seeing an 
open house and a human face. It was the farmhouse 
and the old man. 

The house was a small one made of red bricks, 
topped with five cupolas, almost like a mosque to the 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


53 


viHage. At a distance, it possessed a certain elegance. 
Comely without and coarse within , it was a sample of 
the Orient. One saw, in the shelter of a hill covered 
with thyme, a hundred straw bee-hives, placed in a lino 
like the tents in a camp. The king of this empire, 
the good old man, was a small, young man of twenty- 
five, round and merry. All Greek monks are honored 
with the title of “good old man,’^ age having nothing to 
do with it. He was dressed like a peasant, except his 
bonnet, which was black instead of red; it was by this 
sign that Dimitri recognized him. 

The little man, seeing us running toward him, raised 
his arms to heaven, and appeared utterly amazed. 
“Here is an original,” Mrs. Simons exclaimed; “what 
astonishes him so much? One would say that he had 
never seen any English people before.” 

Dimitri, who had run on ahead, kissed the monk’s 
hand, and said to him with a curious mixture of re- 
spect and familiarity: 

“Thy blessing, father! Wring the necks of two 
chickens, we will pay thee well.” 

“Unhappy man: why do you come here?” 

“To breakfast.” 

“Didst thou not see that the inn was deserted?” 

“I saw it so well, that I found no one at home.” 

“And that the village was deserted?” 

“If I had met anyone, I should not have climbed up 
to thy house.” 

“Thou art then in accord with them?” 

“Them? With whom?” 

“The brigands.” 


54 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


''Are there brigands on Parnassus?” 

“Since day before yesterday.” 

“Where are they?” 

“Everywhere !” 

Dimitri turned quickly toward us and said: “We 
have not a moment to lose. The brigands are in the 
mountains. Let us run for our horses. Have cour- 
age, Mesdames ; and step out lively, if you please.” 

“This is too hard,” cried Mrs. Simons. “Without 
having breakfasted!” 

“Madame, your breakfast would cost you dear! Let 
us hasten, for the love of God!” 

“Is this a conspiracy? You have sworn to make 
me die of hunger! Behold the brigands! As if there 
were brigands! I do not believe in brigands! All the 
papers state that they are disbanded! Moreover, I am 
English, and if anyone touched a hair of my 
head !” 

Mary-Ann was less confident. She leaned on my 
arm and asked me if I thought that we were in danger 
of death. 

“Of death? No. Of being robbed? Yes.” 

“Of what importance is that? They are welcome to 
take all that I carry, if only they will give me my break- 
fast.” 

I learned later that the poor woman was subject to a 
rare malady which the vulgar call canine appetite, and 
our learned men know as boulime. When hunger as- 
sailed her, she would have given her fortune for a plate 
of lentils. 

Dimitri and Mary-Ann each seized a hand and 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 55 

dragged her to the path we had just ascended. The 
little monk followed her, gesticulating. I was strongly 
tempted to push forward; but a quick and imperative 
tone stopped us suddenly. 

‘‘Halt! Isayr 

I raised my eyes. Two mastic bushes and arbutus- 
trees were on the right and left of the path. From 
each bush the muzzles of three or four guns protruded. 
A voice cried in Greek: “Seat yourselves on the 
ground P This operation was exceedingly easy for 
me, as my knees weakened under me. But I consoled 
myself with the thought that Ajax, Agamemnon, and 
the hot-headed Achilles, if they found themselves in a 
like position, would not have refused the seat offered 
them. 

The guns were lowered toward us. I expected to 
see them pushed out so far that their muzzles would 
touch each other over our heads. It was not that I 
was afraid ; but I had never before realized the extraor- 
dinary length of Greek guns. The whole arsenal 
marched out into the path, showing the owner of each. 

The only difference which exists between devils and 
brigands, is that devils are less black than one expects, 
and brigands more squalid than one supposes. The 
eight scoundrels who surrounded us were so foul, that 
I would have preferred to give them my money with 
pinchers. One could imagine that their bonnets might 
once have been red; but lye itself could never have 
found the original shade of their coats. All the rocks 
of the kingdom had contributed to the color of their 
percale skirts, and their vests bore a specimen of the 


56 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


different soils upon which they had reposed. Their 
hands, their faces, and even their mustaches were of a 
reddish gray like the dirt which they had on their 
clothes. Every animal colors itself like the house or 
land it inhabits: the foxes of Greenland are like the 
snow; lions, the color of the desert; partridges, like 
the ground; the Greek brigands, the color of the paths. 

The chief of the little band who had taken us pris- 
oners, was not distinguished by outward sign. Possi- 
bly his face, his hands, his clothes, were richer in dirt 
than those of his comrades. He bent over us from his 
great height, and examined us so closely, that I almost 
felt the touch of his gray mustache. You would have 
thought him a tiger who smelled his prey before de- 
vouring it. When his curiosity was satisfied, he said 
to Dimitri: “Empty thy pockets!” Dimitri did not 
make him repeat it the second time. He threw down, 
at his feet, a knife, a bag of tobacco, and three Mexican 
piastres, which made a sum of sixteen francs. 

“Is that all?” demanded the brigand. 

“Yes, brother.” 

“Thou art the servant?” 

“Yes, brother.” 

“Take one piastre. Thou must not return to the city 
without money.” 

Dimitri began to haggle. “Thou mightest leave me 
two. I have two horses below; they are hired from 
the stable; I will have to pay for the day.” 

“Thou canst explain to Zimmerman that we have 
taken thy money.” 

“And if he insists on being paid even then?” 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


57 


“Tell him that he is only too happy in seeing his 
horses again.” 

“He knows very well that you would not take the 
horses. What would you do with them in the moun- 
tains?” 

“Enough! Tell me who is this tall, thin man behind 
thee?” 

I answered for myself: “An honest German whose 
spoils will not enrich you.” 

“Thou speakest Greek; well. Empty thy pockets!” 

I placed on the ground twenty francs, my tobacco, 
my pipe and my handkerchief. 

“What is that?” 

“A handkerchief.” 

“What for?” 

“To wipe my nose.” 

“Why didst thou tell me that thou wert poor? Only 
lords wipe their noses with handkerchiefs. Take off 
the box which thou earnest on thy back. That is well ! 
Now open it.” 

My box contained some plants, a book, a knife, a 
small packet of arsenic, an almost empty gourd of 
wine, and the remains of my breakfast which brought 
a gleam of covetousness to Mrs. Simons’ eyes. I had 
the impudence to offer them to her before my property 
changed hands. She snatched them greedily and be- 
gan to devour the bread and meat. To my great 
astonishment, this gluttonous act disgusted the thieves, 
who murmured among themselves the word heretic! 
The monk made a half-dozen signs of the cross, accord- 
ing to the rite of the Greek church. 


58 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


“Thou probably hast a watch,” said the brigand to 
me, “put it with the other things.” 

I took off my silver watch, an heirloom, which 
weighed about four ounces. The rascals passed it 
from hand to hand and found it very beautiful. I 
hoped that admiration, which softens men’s feelings, 
would dispose them to restore to me something of my 
belongings, and I begged the Chief to give me my tin 
box. He rudely told me to keep silent. “At least,” I 
persisted, “give back my two ecus so that I can return 
to the city.” He replied with a sardonic grin : “Thou 
wilt have no use for them.” 

Mrs. Simons’ turn had come. Before putting her 
hand into her pocket, she addressed our captors in the 
tongue of her fathers. English is one of the rare lan- 
guages which one can speak with one’s mouth full. 
“Reflect well upon what you are doing,” she said in a 
menacing tone. “I am an Englishwoman, and En- 
glish subjects are sacred in every country in the world. 
What you take from me will serve you little, and cost 
you dear. England will avenge me, and you will be 
hung, at the very least. Now, if you wish my money, 
you have only to speak ; but it will burn your fingers ; 
it is English money!” 

“What does she say?” asked the leader of the brig- 
ands. 

Dimitri answered: “She says she is English.” 

“So much the better; all the English are rich. Tell 
her to shell out!” 

The poor woman emptied her pocket; her purse 
contained a dozen sovereigns. As her watch was not 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 59 

in sight, and as they did not search us, she kept that. 
The kindness of these thieves left her her handkerchief. 

Mary-Ann threw down her watch and a string of 
charms against the evil eye. She took off, with muti- 
nous grace, a shagreen-leather bag, which she wore 
slung on her shoulder. The bandit opened it with all 
the importance of a custom-house officer. He took out 
an English dressing-case, a bottle of English smelling- 
salts, a box of English Menthol pastilles and a hundred 
and several odd francs of English money. 

“Now,^’ said the enraged beauty, “you can let us go; 
we have nothing more for you.” 

One of the men indicated to her by a menacing 
gesture, that the interview was not yet over. The 
leader of the band knelt down before their spoils, called 
the monk, counted the money in his presence and gave 
to him a sum of forty-five francs. Mrs. Simons nudged 
me. “Do you see?” she whispered; “the monk and 
Dimitri have betrayed us into their hands; the bandits 
have divided with them!” 

“No, Madame,” I replied, “Dimitri has received only 
a fraction of what was taken from him. It is custom- 
ary everywhere. On the borders of the Rhine, when a 
traveler is ruined at roulette, the banker gives him 
enough to return home.” 

“But the monk?” 

“He has only received the tithe of the spoils, accord- 
ing to custom from time immemorial. Do not re- 
proach him, but rather be grateful to him in his wish 
to save us, when his convent would have benefited by 
our capture.” 


60 THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 

This conversation was interrupted by Dimitries de- 
parture. They had told him that he was free. “Wait 
for me/^ I said to him, “we will return together.” He 
sadly shook his head and answered in English, so that 
the ladies could understand: 

“You are prisoners for a time, and you will not see 
Athens again until you have paid a ransom. I am go- 
ing to inform milord. Have the ladies any message to 
send to him?” 

“Tell him,” cried Mrs. Simons, “that he must hurry 
to the Ambassador, that he must go to Piraeus to find 
the Admiral, that he must complain at the Foreign Of- 
fice, and he must surely write to Lord Palmerston! 
That we must be rescued from here by force of arms, 
if necessary, or by political authority; but that I will 
not hear of paying one penny for my liberty.” 

“And I,” I said with less anger, “I pray thee to tell 
my friends in whose hands thou hast left me. If it is 
necessary to have a few hundred drachmas to ransom 
a poor devil of a naturalist, they will furnish them with- 
out doubt. The lords of the road will not put a very 
high price on me. I wish whilst thou art still here, 
that thou wouldst ask them the price.” 

“Useless, my dear M. Hermann, they do not fix the 
ransom.” 

“Who, then?” 

“Their chief, Hadgi-Stavros.” 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


61 


IV. 

HADGl-STAVROS. 

Dimitri descended to Athens; the monk went back 
to his bees; our new masters pushed us into the path 
which led to the camp of their king. Mrs. Simons 
rebelled and refused to stir a step. The brigands 
threatened to carry her in their arms; she declared that 
she would not let them carry her. But her daughter 
talked her into a more tractable frame of mind, telling 
that she would find the table spread and that she would 
be invited to breakfast by Hadgi-Stavros. Mary-Ann 
was more surprised than frightened. The followers 
who had come to arrest us, had acted with a certain 
courtesy; they had not searched us, and they had kept 
their hands from their prisoners. Instead of turning 
our pockets wrong side out, they had asked us to put 
down our money and valuables ourselves; they made 
no remark about the ladies^ ear-rings and they did not 
even ask them to take off their gloves. We were far, 
it seemed, from those highwaymen in Spain and Italy 
who cut off a finger to get a ring and who tear out an 
ear-ring to possess themselves of a diamond or pearl. 
All these misfortunes were reduced to the payment of a 
ransom; yet was it not probable that we might be de- 
livered without it? How could one imagine that 
Hadgi-Stavros would be able to hold us with impunity, 
at five leagues from the capital, from the court, from 
the Greek army, from her Britannic Majesty’s battalion. 


62 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


at an English station. Thus reasoned Mary-Ann. As 
for me — I, involuntarily, thought of those two little 
daughters whom Mistra went to seek, and I was sad. 
I (feared that Mrs. Simons, in her obstinate patriotism, 
only exposed her daughter to some great danger, and 
I promised myself that I would enlighten her as to her 
position. We walked in a narrow path, single file, 
separated from each other by our disagreeable com- 
panions. The journey seemed to me to be intermin- 
able, and I asked more than ten times, if we would not 
soon be there. The road was frightful; in the crevices 
of the bare rock an oak sapling struggled for life, or 
a thorny bush scratched our legs. The victorious 
bandits manifested no joy, and their triumphal march 
resembled a funeral parade. They silently smoked 
cigarettes as large as one’s finger. 

They did not speak; one, only, now and then 
hummed a sort of tune. Those people are as lugu- 
brious as a ruin. 

About eleven o’clock, a fierce barking announced 
the neighborhood of the camp. Ten or a dozen enor- 
mous dogs rushed out and hurled themselves upon us, 
showing all their teeth. Our captors drove them back 
with stones, and after a quarter of an hour of hostilities, 
peace was declared. These inhospitable monsters 
were the advance sentinels of the King of the Moun- 
tains. They scent the soldiers as a contrabandist’s dog 
scents a custom-house officer. But that is not all, and 
their zeal is so great, that they, occasionally, devoured 
an inoffensive shepherd, a lost traveler, or even one of 
Hadgi-Stavros’ band. The King kept them, as the old 


THE KING OE THE MOUNTAINS. 


63 


Sultans kept their Janissaries, with the perpetual fear 
of falling a victim to them. 

The King’s camp was a plateau of seven or eight 
hundred metres in extent. I searched everywhere for 
our captors’ tents. The brigands were not sybarites, 
and they slept under the sky on the 30th of April. I 
saw neither heaps of spoils nor a display of treasures, 
nothing which one would hope to find at the headquar- 
ters of a band of brigands. Hadgi-Stavros took upon 
himself the sale of the plunder; each man received his 
pay in silver and used it according to his fancy. Some 
put their money into commerce, others invested in 
mortgages on houses in Athens, while others bought 
land in their villages; no one squandered the proceeds 
of theft. Our arrival interrupted the morning meal of 
twenty-five or thirty men, who hastened to meet us, 
bread and cheese in hand. The Chief furnished his 
band with food : the men received, every day, a ration 
of bread, oil, wine, cheese, caviare, piment (wine mixed 
with honey and spices), bitter olives, and meat when 
their religion permitted. Gourmands who wish for 
mallows and other green food, can pick these dainties 
on the mountains. Brigands, as some other classes of 
people, rarely light a fire for their repasts; they eat 
their food cold, and their vegetables uncooked. I no- 
ticed that everyone was religiously observing the law 
of abstinence. We were on the eve of the celebration 
of the Ascension, and these good people, of whom the 
most innocent had at least the life of one man on his 
conscience, would not touch a mouthful of meat. 
Holding up two Englishwomen, at the point of a mus- 


64 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


ket, seemed an insignificant sin; Mrs. Simons had 
very greatly sinned in eating the cold meat, the 
Wednesday before Ascension. The men who had 
escorted us, satisfied the curiosity of their comrades. 
They were overwhelmed with questions and they an- 
swered them all. They put down in a pile, the booty 
they had secured, and my silver watch scored yet an- 
other success, which added to my pride. Mary-Ann's 
little gold watch was less noticed. In that first inter- 
view, public attention fell upon my watch, and it re- 
flected a little on me. In the eyes of these simple men, 
the owner of such an imposing piece of silver could be 
no less than a lord. 

The bandits’ curiosity was annoying, but not inso- 
lent. They did not treat us harshly. They knew that 
we were in their hands and that we would be ex- 
changed, sooner or later, for a certain number of gold 
pieces ; but they did not think that they ought to avail 
themselves of that circumstance to maltreat us, or 
show a lack of respect. Good sense, that imperishable 
spirit of the Greeks, told them that v/e represented a 
different race, and one, to a certain degree, superior. 
Victorious barbarians render a secret homage to a 
conquered civilized people. Many of these men saw 
for the first time, the European dress. These walked 
around us, as the inhabitants of the new world around 
Columbus’ Spaniards. They furtively felt my coat, to 
see of what material it was made. They would have 
been happy to have examined the articles of my cloth- 
ing, one by one. Perhaps, even, they would have liked 
to break me in two or three pieces, in order to study 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


65 


the inner mechanism of a lord, but I am sure that they 
would have done it with profuse excuses, and not 
without asking pardon for the liberty. 

Mrs. Simons soon lost patience; she did not like to 
be examined so closely by these cheese-eaters, who of- 
fered her no breakfast. No one likes to be made a 
spectacle of. The role of “living curiosity’’ very much 
displeased the good woman, although she had filled it 
advantageously in all countries of the globe. As for 
Mary-Ann, she was overcome with fatigue. A ride of 
six hours, hunger, emotion, surprise, had worn out this 
delicate creature. Imagine this young girl, brought 
up delicately, accustomed to walk on carpets, or upon 
the velvety turf of parks. Her shoes were already 
nearly off her feet, worn out by the roughness 
of the path, and the bushes had torn her dress. Only 
the evening before she had taken tea in the parlors of 
the English Legation, while looking over the beautiful 
albums belonging to Mr. Wyse. She now found her- 
self transported into a frightful country, in the midst of 
a crowd of savages, and she had not the consolation of 
saying: “It is a dream!’’ because she was neither in 
bed, nor even seated, but standing, in great despair, 
on her two weary little feet. 

A band now surrounded us, which rendered our 
position intolerable. It was not a band of thieves; it 
was worse. The Greeks carry upon their persons a 
whole menagerie of little animals, agile, capricious, not 
seizable, who cling to them night and day, give them 
occupation even when asleep, and by their jumps and 
their stings, accelerate the action of the mind, and the 
5 


66 THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 

circulation of the blood. The fleas of the brigands, 
of which I can show some specimens in my Ento- 
mological collection, are very much larger, stronger 
and more agile than their city cousins; the open coun- 
try air possesses virtue so powerful! I soon perceived 
that they were not content with their lot, and that they 
found more to their taste, the fine skin of a young 
German than the tough hide of their masters. An 
emigrating army settled upon me. I felt, at first, an 
uneasy sensation around the ankles: it was the decla- 
ration of war. Two minutes later, an advance guard 
threw itself upon the calf of my right leg; it reached my 
knee. I was out-flanked, and all resistance became 
useless. If I had been alone, I might have been more 
successful in the combat. 

I dared neither complain nor defend myself; I 
heroically hid my sorrows and did not raise my eyes. 

At last, at the end of my patience, and determined to 
escape, by flight, from the pests, I demanded to be 
taken before the King. This recalled our guides to 
their duty. They asked the whereabouts of Hadgi- 
Stavros. The reply was that he was at work in his 
offices. 

“At last,’^ said Mrs. Simons, ‘T can seat myself in an 
easy chair.’^ 

She took my arm, offered hers to her daughter, and 
walked, with a deliberate step, in the direction in which 
the crowd conducted us. The offices were not far 
from the camp, and we reached them in five minutes. 

The offices of the King resembled other offices, as 
the bandits’ camp was like to other camps. There 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


67 


were neither tables, chairs nor furniture of any sort. 
Hadgi-Stavros was seated, tailor-fashion, upon a 
square of carpet, under the shade of a fir tree. Four 
secretaries and two servants sat around him. 

A young boy of sixteen or eighteen, was incessantly 
occupied in filling, lighting and cleaning his masters 
chibouk. He wore at his belt a tobacco bag, embroid- 
ered with gold and fine pearls, and a pair of silver 
tongs, used for taking out coals. Another servant 
passed his days preparing cups of coffee, glasses of 
water and syrup, destined for the royal mouth. 

The secretaries, seated on the bare rock, wrote with 
cut reeds, upon their knees. Each of them had a long 
copper box containing reeds, a knife and an inkstand. 
Some tin cylinders, like those in which soldiers keep 
their papers, served as a place of safety for their 
archives. The paper was not poor, for the reason that 
each sheet bore in capitals the word ‘‘Bath.” 

The King was an old man, marvelously well-pre- 
served, straight, thin, supple as a steel spring, clean 
and shining as a new sword. His long, white mus- 
taches hung over the chin, like two marble stalactites. 
The rest of his face was scrupulously shaved, the 
cranium bare as far as the occiput, where a great mass 
of white hair flowed down from under his bonnet. The 
expression of his face was calm and reflective. A pair 
i of small, clear blue eyes, and a square-cut chin denoted 
I an inflexible will. His face was long, and the many 
i long wrinkles added to its length. Every fold in his 
I forehead seemed to break in the middle and diverge 
i toward the meeting of his eyebrows; two wide and 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


6S 

deep furrows descended to the corners of the lips, as 
if the weight of the mustaches dragged down the mus- 
cles of the face. I have seen a great number of septua- 
genarians, I have even dissected one who would have 
attained a hundred, if the diligence from Osnabruck 
had not passed over his body; but I never remembered 
having seen an old man fresher and more robust than 
Hadgi-Stavros. 

He wore the dress of Tino and all the islands of the 
Archipelago. His red bonnet formed a large fold 
around his forehead. He wore a black vest, heavily 
embroidered wdth black silk, immense blue trousers 
which must have taken twenty metres of cotton stuff, 
and large boots of Russia leather, solid yet supple. 
The only richness about his costume, was a belt decked 
with gold and precious stones, worth two or three 
thousand francs. Thrust in it, was a purse of embroid- 
ered cashmere, a Damascus blade in a silver sheath, a 
long pistol, mounted with gold and rubies, and a ram- 
rod, similarly decorated. 

Immovable in the midst of his secretaries, the King 
moved only his lips and his fingers; his lips to dictate 
his letters, his fingers to tell off the beads of his rosary. 
It was one of those beautiful milk-white amber rosaries 
which serve, not only to mark the number of prayers, 
but to amuse the solemn idleness of the Turks. 

He raised his head at our approach, divined, by a 
glance, what had brought us to him, and said, with a 
gravity, not at all ironical; “You are very welcome! Be 
seated.” 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 09 

“Monsieur,” cried Mrs. Simons, “I am English, 
and ” 

He interrupted the discourse : “All in good time,” he 
said; “I am occupied.” He spoke in Greek and Mrs. 
Simons understood only English, but the King’s face 
was so expressive, that the good woman easily compre- 
hended what he meant without the aid of an interpreter. 
We sat down on the ground. Fifteen or twenty 
brigands crouched around us, and the King, who had 
no secrets to hide, dictated family letters as well as 
those pertaining to business. The leader of the band 
which had arrested us, went to him and whispered in his 
ear. He haughtily answered: “What of that? I am 
doing nothing wrong, and the whole world is welcome 
to hear me. Go, seat thyself ; Thou, Spiro, write : it is 
to my daughter.” 

After he had vigorously blown his nose, he dictated 
in a grave, yet sweet voice : 

“My Dear Child: 

“The preceptress of the school writes to me that thy 
health is much improved and that the severe cold with 
which thou wast troubled, has left thee with the cold 
winter weather. But she is not pleased with thy lack 
of application, and complains that thou hast done 
nothing with thy studies during the month of April, 
Mnie. Mavros writes that thou hast become distrait, 
and that thou sittest with thy elbow on thy book, thy 
eyes looking at nothing, as if thou wert thinking of 
something else. I know that it is unnecessary to tell 
thee to work assiduously. Follow the example of my 
life. If I had taken it easy, as many do, I should 
never have reached the position which I occupy in 
society. I wish to hjive thee worthy of me, that is why 


70 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


I make great sacrifices for thy education. Thou know- 
est that I have never refused thee the masters nor the 
books for which thou hast asked; but my money must 
profit by it. The set of ‘Walter Scott/ has arrived at 
Piraeus, also the ‘Robinson,’ and all the other English 
books thou hast said that thou didst wish to read ; have 
our friends in the Rue d’ Hermes get them from the 
Custom-House for thee. Thou wilt receive, at the 
same time, the bracelet which thou desirest, and that 
steel machine for puffing out thy skirts. If the piano 
from Vienna is not as good as thou toldest me, and it 
seems necessary that thou shouldst have another, thou 
shalt have it. I shall do one or two villages, after the 
sales of the harvest, and the Devil will be against me, 
if I cannot find enough money for a pretty piano. I 
think, as thou dost, that thou must learn music. Use 
thy Sundays in the way I have told thee, and profit by 
the kindness of our friends. Thou must learn to speak 
French, English, and above all, German. Because, 
thou art not to live forever in this ridiculous country, 
and I would rather see thee dead than married to a 
Greek. Daughter of a King, thou shouldst, by right, 
marry a Prince. I do not mean, a prince of smugglers, 
like all our Fanariot families, who pride themselves on 
their descent from Oriental emperors, and whom I 
would not have for servants; but a Prince, reigning 
and crowned. One can find some very good ones in 
Germany, and my fortune will enable me to choose one 
of them. If these Germans come to reign in this coun- 
try, I do not see why thou canst not reign there, in thy 
turn. Make haste, then, to learn the language, and tell 
me in thy next letter of the progress thou hast made. 
My child, I embrace thee tenderly, and I send thee, 
with thy quarter’s allowance, my paternal blessing.” 

Mrs. Simons leaned toward me and whispered: '‘Is 
he dictating our sentence to his brigands?’’ 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


71 


I replied: “No, Madame; he is writing to his 
daughter.” 

“Concerning our capture?” 

“Concerning a piano, a crinoline, and Walter Scott.” 

“That takes a long time. Will he invite us to break- 
fast?” 

“There comes a servant with refreshments.” 

The King’s coffee-bearer came to us, bringing three 
cups of coffee, a box of rahat-loukoum, and a pot of 
preserves. Mrs. Simons and her daughter rejected the 
beverage with disgust, because it was made like Turk- 
ish coffee, and was like thickened milk. I emptied my 
cup like a veritable gourmand of the Orient. The pot 
of sweets was a rose sorbet, and received only a small 
share of our attention, as we were forced to eat it with 
one spoon. Delicate eaters are unfortunate when in 
this country of primitive simplicity. But the rahat- 
loukoum, cut in pieces, pleased the palates of the ladies, 
without shocking too much, their ordinary tastes. 
They took in their beautiful fingers that perfumed 
jellied paste, and emptied the box, while the King dic- 
tated the following letter: 

“Messrs. Barley and Company, 

“31 Cavendish Square, 

“London. 

“I see by your honored letter of the 5th of April and 
the current account which accompanies it, that I have, 
at the present time, 22,750 livres sterling, to my credit. 
Please place these funds, half in English three per 
cents, half in shares of the company, before the cou- 
pons are cut. Sell my shares of the Royal Britannic 
Bank; it is an institution in which I have no longer 


72 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


any confidence. Take for me, in exchange, all in 
Bank of London. If you can get 15,000 livres for my 
house in the Strand (it was valued at that in 1852), you 
may buy for me, in the Vieille-Montagne, an equal 
amount. Send to the firm, Rhalli Brothers, 100 
guineas; it is my subscription for the Hellenic School 
at Liverpool. I have seriously pondered the proposi- 
tion which you have done me the honor to submit to 
me, and, after many reflections, I have decided to per- 
sist in my line of conduct and transact business strictly 
on a cash basis. Purchases in future are of a specula- 
tive character, which ought to prevent any good father 
of a family from dealing in them. I am assured that 
you would not expose my capital to danger, and would 
use it with a prudence which has always characterized 
your house; but even where the benefit of which you 
write, seems sure, I experience, I must confess it, a cer- 
tain repugnance to leaving to my heirs a fortune aug- 
mented by gambling. Accept, etc., 

“Hadgi-Stavros, 

“Proprietor.’’ 

“Is it about us?” Mary-Ann whispered. 

“Not yet. Mademoiselle, His Majesty is investing m 
stocks.’’ 

“In stocks! Here? I thought that was only done 
at home.” 

“Is Monsieur, your father, associated with a banking 
establishment?” 

“Yes; with the firm of Barley & Co.” 

“Are there two bankers of the same name in Lon- 
don?” 

“Not that I am aware of.” 

“Have you ever heard that the firm transacted busi- 
ness with the Orient?” 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


73 


“Certainly, all over the world.” 

“And do you live in Cavendish Square?” 

“No, the offices are there. Our house is in Picca- 
dilly.” 

“Thank you. Mademoiselle. Allow me to listen to 
the next. This old man’s correspondence is very in- 
teresting.” 

The King dictated, without stopping, a long re- 
port of the shares of his band. This curious document 
was addressed to M. Georges Micrommati, Officer of 
Ordinance, at the Palaces, that he might read it in the 
General Assembly to those interested. 

^ “Account rendered of the operations of the National 
Company by the King of the Mountains. 

Receipts and Expenditures, 1855-56. 
3ij-s ; Camp of the King, April 30, ’56. 

The agent whom you have honored with your confi- 
dence, to-day, for the fourteenth time, submits for your 
approval the report of the year’s transactions. Since the 
day when the constitutional act of our society was 
signed in the office of Master Tsappas, Royal Notary 
of Athens, never has our enterprise encountered more 
obstacles, never has the progress of our labors been em- 
barrassd by more serious difficulties. It is in the pres- 
ence of a strange occupation, under the eyes of two 
armies, if not hostile, at least ill-disposed, that the regu- 
lar practice of an eminently national institution must be 
carried on. Piraeus is occupied by the military; the 
Turkish frontier is watched with a zealousness without 
precedent in history, and this restricts our activity to a 
very narrow circle, and confines our zeal to impassable 
limits. Within these narrow boundaries, our resources 
are still more reduced by the general penury, the 
$carcicy of money, and the small crops. The olive 


74 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


trees have not yielded as they promised; the cereal 
harvests have been small, and the vines are not yet rid 
of the oidium. In these circumstances it has been diffi- 
cult to profit by the tolerance of the authorities and the 
kindness of a friendly goyernment. Our enterprise is 
so identified with the interests of the country, that it 
can flourish only in the general prosperity, and so re- 
pulse the counterstrokes of all public calamities; for 
from those who have nothing, one can take nothing, or 
little of anything. 

The strangers traveling in this country, whose 
curiosity is so useful to the kingdom and to us, have 
become rare. English tourists, who, formerly, com- 
posed an important branch of our revenue, are totally 
lacking. Two young Americans, stopped upon the 
road to Pentelicus, lost us their ransom. The French 
and English papers had inspired them with a spirit of 
defiance, and they escaped from our hands, at a time 
when their capture would have been most useful. 

And now, gentlemen, this is our record, a report of 
our society which has resisted the fatal crisis better 
than agriculture, industries and commerce. Your 
funds, confided to my keeping, have been made profit- 
able, not as much so as I could wish, but better than 
any one could hope for. I will say no more; I leave 
the figures to speak for themselves. Arithmetic is 
more eloquent than Demosthenes. 

The society capital, limited at first to the modest 
sum of 50,000 francs, has increased to 120,000 by three 
successive issuings of bonds of 500 francs. 

Our gross receipts, from May i, 1855, to April 30, 
1856, are 261,482 francs. 

Expenses as follows: 

Tithes paid to churches and monasteries. ... 26,148 

Interest on capital of the legal tax of 10 per 

cent per 100. 12,000 

38,148 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 75 

Report. 

Pay and board for 8o men at 650 francs per 

capita 52,000 

Material, arms, etc 7,056 

Repairing the road to Thebes, which had be- 
come impassable and where there were no 

travelers to hold up 2,540 

Expense of watching the highways 5, §35 

Rent for office 3 

Subsidizing some journalists 11,900 

Rewards to various employes of the judicial 
and administrative orders 18,000 


Total 135,482 

If this sum is deducted from the gross re- 
ceipts, there are left, net 126,000 

According to the statutes, the above is apportioned 
as follows: 

Reserve funds in the Bank of Athens 6,000 

Share belonging to Agent 40,000 

Share-holders^ part ^,000 

333 francs, 33 c. per share. 


Add to the 333 francs, 33 c., 50 francs interest and 
25 francs in reserve funds, and you will have a total of 
408 francs, 33 c. per share. Your money is then draw- 
ing nearly 82 per cent. 

Such are the results, gentlemen, of the last cam- 
paign. Judge what the future will be, when our coun- 
try and our operations shall be free from the foreign 
power which presses so heavily 

The King dictated this without consulting any notes, 
without hesitating about a figure and without stopping 
to choose words. I would never have believed that an 
old man of his age could have possessed so remarkable 
a memory. He appended his seal to the three letters; 


76 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


it was his way of signing. He read easily, but he had 
never found time to learn to write. Charlemagne 
and Alfred the Great were, it is said, in the same pre- 
dicament. 

While the Under-Secretaries of State were transcrib- 
ing the letters for the day in order to place them in the 
archives, he gave audience to subaltern officers who 
had returned with their detachments, from the day’s 
duty. Each man seated himself in front of him, 
saluted him by laying his right hand on his heart and 
making his report in a few words. I swear to you 
that Saint-Louis, under his oak, inspired no greater 
reverence among the people of Vincennes. 

The first who presented himself was a small man, 
with a bad face; a fine sample for the Court of Assizes. 
It was an islander from Corfu, persecuted as an incen- 
diary: he had been well brought up, and his talents 
had advanced him. But his chief and his soldiers held 
him in no great esteem. He was suspected of keeping 
for his own profit a part of the spoils. Now the King 
was unreasonable on the subject of probity. When he 
found a man in fault, he ignominiously thrust him out 
and ironically said to him: “Go and make a magis- 
trate of thyself!” 

Hadgi-Stavros asked the man from Corfu: “What 
hast thou done?” 

“I have just come, with my fifteen men, from the 
ravine of Cirondelles, upon the road to Thebes. I met 
a detachment of soldiers; twenty-five men,” 

“Where are their guns?” 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


77 


“I left them. They were percussion muskets, which 
would not serve us on account of lack of caps.’’ 

“Good! Then?” 

“It was market-day; I stopped the passers-by.” 

“How many?” 

“One hundred and forty-two persons.” 

“And thou hast brought ?” 

“About a thousand francs,” naming the sum. 

“Seven francs per head! It is small!” 

“It is good. They were peasants.” 

“They had not, then, sold their goods?” 

“Some had sold, others bought.’’ 

The man opened a heavy sack which he carried un- 
der his arm; he spread out the contents before the 
secretaries, who began to count the amount. The re- 
ceipts were from thirty to forty Mexican piastres, some 
handfuls of Austrian zwanzigs and an enormous quan- 
tity of copper coins. Some crumpled papers were 
among the money. They were bank notes of ten francs 
each. 

“Thou hast no jewels?” asked the King. 

“No!” 

“Were there no women, then?” 

“I found nothing worth bringing away.” 

“What is that on thy finger?” 

“A ring.” 

“Gold?” 

“Or copper; I do not know which.” 

“Where didst thou get it?” 

“I bought it two months ago.” 


78 THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 

“If thou hadst bought it, thou wouldst know whether 
it was gold or copper. Give it to me.’^ 

The man took it of¥ with bad grace. The ring was 
immediately locked up in a small coffer full of jewels. 

‘T pardon thee said the King, “because of thy bad 
education. The people of thy country disgrace theft 
by mixing knavery with it. If I had only lonians in 
my band, I would be obliged to place turnstiles in the 
roads as they do at the Exposition in London, so that 
I might count the visitors and the money. The next!’’ 

He, who came forward now, was a tall young man, 
well-proportioned, and with a most pleasing face. His 
round eyes beamed forth rectitude and good-nature. 
His lips, half-opened with a pleasant smile, showed a 
magnificent set of teeth ; I was greatly taken with him, 
and I said to myself that if he had been led astray by 
evil associations, he must surely return, some day, to 
the right path. My face must have pleased him, for 
he saluted me very politely, before seating himself in 
front of the King. 

Hadgi-Stavros said to him: “What hast thou done, 
Vasile?’’ 

“I reached Pigadia, yesterday evening, with my six 
men; it is the village of the Senator Zimbellis.” 

“Well!” 

“Zimbellis was absent, as usual; but his relatives, 
his farmers, and his tenants were all at home, and in 
bed.” 

“Well!” 

“I entered an inn; I awakened the landlord; I bought 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 70 

twenty-five bundles of straw, and for payment I killed 
him.” 

‘‘Welir 

‘‘We carried the straw to the houses, and spread it 
around; the houses are of wood or osier, and we set 
fire to seven places at once. The matches were good; 
the wind from the north ; everything went.” 

“Well!” 

“We retired quietly to the wells. The whole village 
awakened and rushed out, shouting. The men came 
running with their leather buckets to get water. We 
drowned four whom we did not know; the others 
escaped.” 

“Well!” 

“We returned to the village. There was no one, only 
an infant forgotten by his parents, and who cried like 
a little raven fallen from its nest. I threw him into a 
burning house, and he cried no more.” 

“Well!” 

“Then we took fire-brands, and placed them around 
the olive trees. The thing was well-executed. We 
then started for the camp; we supped and slept about 
half-way here, and we arrived at nine o^clock, in prime 
condition without even a burn.” 

“Good! The Senator Zimbellis will not discourse 
against us again! The next!” 

Vasile withdrew, saluting me as he passed, as polite- 
ly as the first time ; but I did not return his bow. 

He was soon replaced by the great devil who had 
taken us. By a singular caprice of chance, the first 
author of the drama in which I was called to play a 


80 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


part, was named Sophocles. At the moment when he 
began his report, I felt the blood congeal in my veins. 
I supplicated Mrs. Simons not to risk an imprudent 
word. She replied, that she was English, and that she 
knew how to behave herself. The King asked us to be 
silent, and allow the man to speak. 

He first spread out the booty which he had taken 
from us; then he drew from his belt forty Austrian 
ducats, which made a sum of four hundred and seventy 
francs, at the rate of ii francs-i5c. 

‘The ducats,’’ he said, “came from the village of 
Castia; the rest was taken from these nobles. Thou 
didst tell me to scour the boundaries, I began with the 
village.” 

“Thou hast not done well,” replied the King. “The 
people of Castia are our neighbors, they must not be 
molested. How can we live in safety, if we have 
enemies at our door? Moreover, they were brave 
people who have given us aid when occasion de- 
manded.” 

“Oh! I took nothing from the charcoal burners. 
They disappeared into the w^oods, without giving me 
time to speak to them. But the padre had the gout; I 
found him at home.” 

“What didst thou say to him?” 

“I asked him for his money; he insisted that he had 
none. I shut him up in a sack with his cat; and I 
do not know what the cat did, but he began to cry 
out that his treasure was behind the house, under a 
huge stone.” 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


81 


“Thou wert wrong. The padre will incite all the vil- 
lage against us.” 

“Oh! no! In leaving him, I forgot to open the sack, 
and the cat ought to have fixed him by this time.” 

“All in good time: But listen to me well, all of 

you: I do not wish anyone to trouble our neighbors. 
Thou mayst retire.” 

Our examination now began. Hadgi-Stavros, in- 
stead of having us come to him, gravely rose, came 
and seated himself on the ground in front of us. This 
mark of deference to us seemed a favorable augury. 
Mrs. Simons prepared to question him herself. As 
for me, perceiving too well what she was capable of 
saying, and knowing the intemperance of her tongue, 
I offered my services to the King, as interpreter. He 
thanked me coldly, and called the Corfuan, who knew 
English. 

“Madame,” the King said to Mrs. Simons, “you 
seem to be in great anger. Have you any complaints 
to make of the men who brought you here?” 

“It is a horror!” she cried. “Your rascals have ar- 
rested, dragged me through the dirt, despoiled me, 
worn me out, and starved me.” 

“Will you accept my excuses? I am forced to em- 
ploy men without education. Believe me, my dear 
Madame, it is not by my orders they have acted thus. 
You are English?” 

“An Englishwoman from London.” 

“I have been to London; I know and esteem the 
English. I know that they have good appetites, and 
you noticed that I was moved to offer you refresh- 
6 


S2 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


merits. I know that ladies of your country do not like 
to run over rocks, and I regret that you were not al- 
lowed to walk your own gait. I know that people of 
your nation carry, while traveling, only such things as 
are necessary, and I have not yet pardoned Sophocles 
for having robbed you, above all, if you are a person of 
distinction.^’ 

“I belong to the best society of London 

“Deign to take back your money. You are rich?” 

“Assuredly.” 

“This traveling-case is yours, is it not?” 

“It is my daughter’s.” 

“Take, also, all that belongs to your daughter. You 
are very rich?” 

“Very rich.” 

“Do these things belong to Monsieur, your son?’’ 

“Monsieur is not my son; he is a German. Since I 
am English how could I have a German son?” 

“That is true. Have you twenty thousand francs 
income?” 

“More.” 

“A carpet for these ladies! Are you rich enough to 
have thirty thousand francs income?” 

“We have more than that.” 

“Sophocles is a villain whom I shall chastise. Logo- 
thete, tell them to prepare dinner for these ladies. 
May it be possible, Madame, that you are a million- 
aire?” 

“I am that.” 

“And I — I am annoyed at the way in which you have 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


83 


been treated. You have, without doubt, fine friends in 
Athens?” 

“I know the English Minister.” 

“Oh! Madame! You also know some merchants, 
some bankers?” 

“My brother, who is at Athens, knows many bankers 
in the city.” 

“I am delighted. Sophocles, come here. Ask par- 
don of these ladies.” 

Sophocles muttered some words between his teeth, 
I know not what excuses. The King replied: 

“These ladies are Englishwomen of distinction ; they 
are worth a million or more; they have been received 
by the English Ambassador; their brother, who is 
in Athens, knows all the bankers in the city.” 

“That is right!” cried Mrs. Simons. The King 
continued: 

“Thou shouldst have treated these ladies with all 
the regard due their fortune.” 

“Good!” Mrs. Simons cried. 

“Have conducted them here carefully.” 

“For what purpose?” murmured Mary- Ann. 

“And abstained from touching their baggage. When 
one has the honor of meeting, in the mountains, two 
persons of the rank of these ladies, one should salute 
them with respect, one should bring them to the camp 
with deference, one should guard them circumspectly, 
and one should offer them politely every necessary 
thing in life, until their brother or their ambassador 
sends us a ransom of a hundred thousand francs.” 

Poor Mrs. Simons! dear Mary-Ann! Neither ex- 


U THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 

pected this termination. As for me, I was not sur- 
prised. I knew with what a crafty knave we had to do. 
I took up the word, and I said to him fiercely: “Thou 
canst keep what thy men have taken from me, because 
it is all that thou wilt get from me. I am poor, my 
father has nothing, my brothers often eat dry bread. 
I know neither bankers nor ambassadors, and if thou 
keepest me with the hope of a ransom, thou wilt reap 
no reward. I swear it to thee!” 

A murmur of incredulity was heard, but the King 
appeared to believe me. 

“If that is true,^’ he said to me, “I will not keep you. 
I will send you back to the city. Madame will give you a 
letter for Monsieur, her brother, and you may even 
leave to-day. If, however, you need to remain a day 
or two in the mountains, I will offer my hospitality to 
you; because I suppose that you have not come as far 
as this, with this large box, in order to look over the 
country.” 

This little speech gave me a profound feeling of re- 
lief. I looked around with satisfaction. The King, 
his secretaries, and his soldiers seemed less terrible; 
the surrounding rocks more picturesque, since I viewed 
them with the eye of a guest and not as a prisoner. 
The desire I had experienced to see Athens suddenly 
subsided, and I decided to pass two or three days in the 
mountains. I felt that my counsels would not be use- 
less to Mary-Ann’s mother. The good woman was in 
a state of excitement which might urge her to do 
something rash. If, perchance, she determined to re- 
fuse to pay the ransom! Before England could come 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


85 


to her aid, she would have ample time to draw dire 
calamity upon her charming head. I must not leave 
her until I had an opportunity to relate the history of 
Mistra’s little daughters. Shall I say more? You 
know my passion for botany. The flora of Parnassus 
is very enticing at the end of April. One can find in 
the mountains five or six plants as rare as they are 
celebrated. One especially: Boryana variabiHs, dis- 
covered and named by M. Bory de Saint-Vincent. 
Should I leave such a lacuna and present my her- 
barium to the Museum of Hamburg, without the 
boryana variabilis?” 

I replied to the King: ^T accept thy hospitality, 
but on one condition.” 

“What is it?” 

“That thou wilt return my box.” 

“Oh well! so be it: and the condition?” 

“That is it.” 

“Will you tell me of what use it is to you?” 

“To hold the plants which I pick.” 

“And why do you search for plants? To sell 
them?” 

“Nonsense! I am not a merchant, I am a savant.” 

He held out his hand to me and said with visible 
joy: “I am charmed. Science is a beautiful thing. 
Our ancestors were wise men. Our grand-children 
will be, perhaps. As for us, time is lacking. Savants 
are much esteemed in your country?” 

“Greatly.” 

“One gives them rank?” 

“Sometimes.” 


B6 THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 

‘‘One pays them well?” 

“Enough!” 

“One attaches a little ribbon to their coat?” 

, “Occasionally!” 

“Is it true that cities dispute as to which they be- 
long?” 

“It is true in Germany!” 

“And one looks upon their death as a public 
calamity?” 

“Assuredly !” 

“What you tell me gives me great pleasure. Then 
you have no complaints to make of your fellow-citi- 
zens?” 

“Very much to the contrary. It is through their 
liberality that I was enabled to come to Greece.” 

“You travel at their expense?” 

“Yes.” 

“You are well-educated?” 

“I am a doctor.” 

“It is the highest grade in science?” 

“No.” 

“And how many doctors are there in the city in 
which you live?” 

“I do not know exactly, but not as many doctors in 
Hamburg, as generals in Athens.” 

“Oh! oh! I would not deprive your country of a 
man so rare. You shall return to Hamburg, Monsieur, 
doctor; what would they say down below if they knew 
that you were a prisoner up here in the mountains?” 

“They would say that it was a misfortune.” 

“Good! Rather than lose such a man as you, the 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


87 


city of Hamburg would sacrifice fifteen thousand 
francs. Take back your box, haste away, search, 
gather plants, and follow your studies. Why not put 
that silver watch back in your pocket? It is yours, and 
I respect savants too much to rob them. But your 
country is rich enough to pay for her glory. Happy 
young man! You recognize, to-day, how much the 
title of doctor adds to your personal value. I would 
not have demanded a centime of ransom, if you had 
been as ignorant as I am.’^ 

The King listened neither to my objections, nor to 
Mrs. Simons’ expostulations. He closed the interview, 
and pointed out to us the dining hall. Mrs. Simons 
descended to the place, all the while protesting that 
although she would eat her breakfast, yet she would 
never pay the bill. Mary- Ann seemed more depressed; 
but such is the mobility of youth, that she cried out with 
joy when she saw the place where our meal was spread. 
It was a little corner of green, sheltered by gray rocks. 
Beautiful grass formed the carpet; some clumps of 
privet and laurels served as hangings and hid the 
rocky walls. A beautiful blue arch was above our 
heads; birds flew back and forth in the azure vault. 
In a corner of our dining-hall, a limpid stream, clear 
as crystal, silently swept along in its course, spreading 
over its banks, and falling in a silvery sheet down 
the side of the mountain. From this side, the view 
inimitably extended to the sides of the Pentelicus, the 
great white pile which overhangs Athens; across the 
sad-colored olive groves; the dusty plain; the gray 
sides of Hymettus, rounded like an old man’s spine; 


88 THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 

and that beautiful Saronic Gulf, so blue that one might 
say that a strip had fallen from the sky. Assuredly, 
Mrs. Simons had not a mind turned to admiration, 
and yet, she confessed that the price for such a beauti- 
ful sight would be very high in London or Paris. 

The table was laid with heroic simplicity. Brown 
bread, baked in a field oven, smoked upon the sod and 
gave out a most appetizing odor. The clotted milk 
quivered in a huge wooden bowl. The large olives and 
green piments, were laid on roughly cut pieces of 
wood. A shaggy goat-skin bottle spread out its large 
sides next to a red copper cup, roughly chiseled. An 
ewe’s-milk cheese reposed upon the cloth which had 
pressed it, and which still bore its imprint. Five or 
six appetizing lettuces promised us a delicious salad, 
but there were no condiments with which to dress 
them. The King had placed his traveling plate at our 
disposal, consisting of spoons cut out with a knife, 
and we had, as a surfeit of luxury, our five fingers, for 
forks. They had not been tolerant enough to serve us 
wdth meat, but the yellow tobacco of Almyros 
promised me an admirable digester. 

One of the King^s officers served us. It was the hide- 
ous Corfuan, the man of the gold ring, who knew Eng- 
lish. He cut the bread with his poniard and distributed 
it freely, praying us not to lack for anything. Mrs. Sim- 
ons, without losing one stroke of her teeth, said to 
him in a haughty tone: ‘‘Monsieur, does your master 
seriously believe that we shall pay a ransom of a 
hundred thousand francs?’’ 

“He is sure of it!” 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


89 


“It is because he does not know the English na- 
tion.” 

“He knows it well, Madame, and I also. At Corfu, 
I have associated with many distinguished English- 
men! judges!” 

“I wish you joy of it! but tell this Stavros to arm 
himself with patience, because he will wait a long time 
for the hundred thousand francs, which he has prom- 
ised himself.” 

“He told me to tell you that he would wait for 
them until the 15th of May, at noon, precisely.” 

“And if we have not paid it the 15th of May, at 
noon?” 

“He will regret that he will be obliged to cut off 
your head, as well as Mademoiselle’s.” 

Mary-Ann dropped the bread which she was carry- 
ing to her mouth. “Give me a little wine,” she said. 
The bandit handed to her a cup full; but scarcely had 
it touched her lips, before she cried out with fear. The 
poor child imagined that the wine was poisoned. I 
reassured her by emptying the cup at one draught. 
“Fear nothing,” I said to her; “it is the resin.” 

“What resin?” 

“Wine would not keep in these goat-skins if a cer- 
tain amount of resin was not added, to prevent it from 
spoiling. The mixture is not very agreeable, but you 
may drink it without fear.” 

Despite my example, Mary-Ann and her mother 
made the bandit bring water. The man ran to the 
brook and was back in an instant. “You understand, 
Mesdames,” he smilingly said, “that the King would 


90 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


not be foolish enough to poison such valuable people 
as you are.” He added, turning to me: ‘‘You, M. le 
docteur, I have orders to tell you that you have thirty 
days to pursue your studies and pay the sum. I will 
furnish you all with writing materials.” 

“Thanks,” Mrs. Simons said. “We will think of 
it in eight days, if we are not delivered before.” 

“And by whom, Madame?” 

“By England.” 

“Is it far?” 

“Or by the police.” 

“For your sake, I hope you may have that luck. In 
the meantime, I will do anything in my power for 
you.” 

“I wish first for a bed-chamber.” 

“We have near here a grotto, which is called Les 
Etables. You would not like it; the sheep were kept 
there during the winter, and the odor still remains. 
I will get two tents from the shepherds below and you 
can camp here — until the arrival — of the gendarmes!” 

“I wish for a waiting-maid.” 

“Nothing is easier. Our men will go down to the 
plain, and stop the first peasant-woman who passes, — 
if, however, the gendarmerie will permit!” 

“I must have clothes, dresses, linen, toilet appurte- 
nances, soap, a mirror, combs, scents, a tapestry frame, 
a .” 

“A good many things, Madame, and in order to get 
them all, we would be forced to go to Athens. But 
one will do the best. Count on me and count not too 
much on your soldiers.” 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


91 


'‘May God pity us!” Mary-Ann said. 

A vigorous echo replied: “Kyrie Eleisonl” (Lord, 
have mercy upon us.) It was the good old man who 
came to visit us, and who sang while traveling about 
in order to keep in practice. He saluted us cordially, 
placed upon the grass a vessel full of honey, and seated 
himself near us. “Take and eat,” he said. “My bees 
offer you a dessert.” 

I shook hands with him; Mrs. Simons and Mary- 
Ann turned away in disgust. They obstinately re- 
fused to see him in any other light than as an accom- 
plice of the brigands. The poor, good man knew no 
malice. He knew only how to chant his prayers, to 
care for his bees, to sell his goods, to collect the reve- 
nues of the convent, and to live at peace with the 
whole world. His intelligence was limited ; his science, 
nothing; his conduct as innocent as that of a well- 
regulated machine. I do not believe that he was able 
to clearly distinguish good from bad, and to see any 
difference between a thief and an honest man. His 
wisdom consisted in making four meals a day, and of 
never getting more than half-seas over. He was, more- 
over, one of the best monks of bis order. 

I did full justice to the present he had brought us. 
This half-wild honey resembled the kind which we eat 
in France, as the flesh of a roe resembles lamb’s meat. 
One would have said that the bees had distilled in an 
invisible alembic all the perfumes of the mountains. 
I forgot, in eating my bread spread with the honey, 
that I had only a month in which to find fifteen thous- 
and francs, or die. 


92 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


The monk, in his turn, asked permission to refresh 
himself a little, and without waiting for a reply, took 
the cup and turned out a bumper. He drank, succes- 
sively, to each of us. Five or six brigands, drawn by 
curiosity, glided into the nook. He spoke to each by 
name, and drank to each, in a spirit of justice. It was 
not long before I cursed his presence. An hour after 
his arrival, half the band was seated in a circle around 
our viands. In the absence of the King, who was taking 
a siesta in his office, the brigands came, one by one, to 
cultivate our acquaintance. One offered his services, 
another brought us something, still a third introduced 
himself without pretext and without embarrassment, 
as a man who felt himself at home. The more familiar 
besought me to relate our history; the more timid 
held back at first but insensibly drew nearer. Some, 
having satisfied themselves with looking at us, threw 
themselves down, without courtesy for the ladies’ pres- 
ence, and immediately began to snore. And the fleas, 
always flying about, and the presence of their original 
master rendering them so bold that I surprised two or 
three of them on the back of my hand. Impossible to 
dispute their right to a grazing ground, I was no more 
a man, but a common pasture. At this moment, I 
would have given three of the most beautiful plants 
in my herbarium for a quarter of an hour of soli- 
tude. 

Mrs. Simons and her daughter were too discreet to 
impart to me their views, but they proved, by some 
involuntary starts, that we were of a community of 
ideas. I even surprised a look between them which 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


93 


seemed to say: “The gendarmes will deliver us from 
the thieves, but who can deliver us from these fleas.” 
This mute complaint awoke in my heart a chivalrous 
sentiment. I resolutely rose and said: 

“Go away, all of you; the King has sent us here to 
live quietly until the arrival of our ransoms. The rent is 
so high that we have a right to remain alone. Are you 
not ashamed to crowd around a table, like parasitical 
dogs? You have no business here. We have no use 
for you; we do not want you here. Do you believe 
that we can escape? How? By the cascade? Or past 
the King^s cabinet? Leave us then in peace. Corfuan, 
drive them away, and I will help you, if you wish.” 

I added action to the word. I shoved along the 
loiterers, I awakened the sleepers, I shook the monk, 
I forced the Corfuan to aid me, and soon the troop of 
brigands, a troop armed with poniards and pistols, 
gave up to us the place, with lamb-like meekness, al- 
though kicking, taking short steps, resisting with the 
shoulders and twisting the head, in the fashion of 
school-boys who have to be pushed into the school- 
room, when recreation is over. 

At last we were alone with the Corfuan. I said to 
Mistress Simons: “Madame, this is our house. Will 
you be kind enough to separate the apartment into two 
divisions? I must have a little corner for my tent. 
Behind those trees, I shall not be badly off, and all 
the rest is yours, if that pleases you. You will have 
the brook at hand.” 

. My offers were accepted with sufficiently bad grace. 
These ladies would have liked to keep all and let me 


94 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


go to sleep with the thieves. It is true that British 
conventions might have gained something by this 
separation, but I would have lost sight of Mary-Ann. 
And, moreover, I had decided to sleep far from the 
fleas. The Corfuan approved of my proposition, which 
rendered his watch less difflcult. He had orders to 
guard us night and day. It was necessary that he 
should sleep near my tent, but I exacted the condition 
of a distance of six English feet between us. 

The treaty concluded, I established myself in a cor- 
ner to give chase to my domestic game. But I had 
scarcely begun, before the curious bandits appeared 
under pretext of bringing our tents. 

Mrs. Simons fairly screamed when she saw that her 
house was composed of a simple strip of heavy felt, 
pleated in the middle, fastened to the earth at the two 
ends, and opened to the wind on two sides. The 
Corfuan swore that we should be lodged like princes, 
save in case of rain or a strong wind. The entire 
band began to drive in stakes, to fix our beds and to 
bring bed-covers. Each bed was composed of a rug 
with a covering made of goat-skin. At six o’clock, the 
King came to assure himself, with his own eyes, that 
we lacked nothing. Mrs. Simons, more incensed than 
ever, replied that she lacked everything. I formally 
asked for the exclusion of all useless visitors. The 
King established severe regulations, such as we had 
never followed. Discipline is a French word hard to 
translate in Greek. The King and his subjects retired 
at seven o’clock, and we were to be served then with 
supper. Four torches of resinous wood lighted the 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


95 


table. Their red and smoky light strangely colored Miss 
Simons’ pale face. Her eyes seemed to flash, become 
dim, and rekindle again, like a revolving beacon-light. 
Her voice, weakened by fatigue, took on, at intervals, 
a discordant tone. In listening to her, my mind seemed 
to wander in a supernatural world, and I remembered 
some very fantastic tales which I had once read. A 
nightingale sang, and I believed I saw its silvery song 
pouring from Mary-Ann’s lips. The day had been a 
hard one for all, and even I, who had given substan- 
tial proof of my appetite, soon recognized the fact that 
I was famished only for sleep. I said good-night to the 
ladies and retired to my tent. In an instant, I forgot 
nightingale, danger, ransom, stings; I closed my eyes 
and I slept. 

A fearful discharge of musketry awoke me with a 
start. I jumped up so quickly that I struck my head 
against the poles of my tent. At the same moment, 
I heard two feminine voices crying: “We are saved! 
The gendarmes 1” I saw two or three indistinct forms 
rush by in the night. In my joy, in my trouble, I em- 
braced the first shadow which passed my tent — it was 
the Corfuan. 

“Halt!” he cried, “where are you running, if you 
please?” 

“Dog of a thief!” I replied, “I am going to see if 
the gendarmes will soon finish shooting your com- 
rades.” 

Mrs. Simons and her daughter, guided by my voice, 
came up to us. The man said to us: 

“The gendarmes will not travel to-day. It is the 


96 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


Ascension and the ist of May, a double fete-day. The 
noise which you have heard is the signal for rejoicing. 
It is after midnight, almost morning; our companions 
go to drink wine, eat meat, dance the Romaique and 
burn powder. If you wish to see this beautiful sight, it 
will give me pleasure to take you to it. I can guard 
you more agreeably around the roast than at the 
fountain here.” 

“You lie!” cried Mrs. Simons, “it is the gendarmes!” 

“Let us go and see,” added Mary-Ann. 

I followed them. The tumult was so great that one 
could not have slept if one had wished. Our guide 
led us through the King’s cabinet, and we climbed to 
the bandit camp which was all ablaze with light. Whole 
pine trees, placed at intervals, were used as torches. 
Five or six groups, seated around a huge fire, watched 
the lambs roasting on spits. In the midst of the crowd, 
a line of dancers wound slowly around in serpentine 
fashion, to the measures of most frightful music. Oc- 
casional volleys of musketry were heard. Once, it 
came quite near us and I felt the whizzing of a ball, 
close to my ear. I begged the ladies to hasten forward, 
hoping that, near the King, we would be farther 
from danger. The King, seated on his ever-lasting 
carpet, presided with due solemnity over the diversions 
of his people. Around him were goat-skin bottles; 
the sheep were cut up and each man took a leg or 
shoulder and carried it about in his hands. The or- 
chestra was composed of a rude tambourine, and a 
shrill flageolet. The dancers had taken off their shoes, 
in order to be more agile. They flounced and jumped 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


97 


all over the spot and came near cracking their bones, 
sometimes. From time to time, they left the dance, 
drank a cup of wine, ate a piece of meat, discharged 
a gun, and then returned to the dance. All these men, 
except the King, drank, ate, hurled themselves about 
and jumped; I saw not one of them even smile. 

Hadgi-Stavros courteously excused himself for hav- 
ing awakened us. 

'‘It is not I who am to blame, it is the custom. If the 
first of May passed without a discharge of musketry, 
these worthy people would not believe that Spring had 
come. I have here only simple people, brought up in 
the country and attached to ancient customs. I have 
done the best for their education that I could do, but I 
shall die before they become civilized. Men cannot be 
made over in a day like silver forks and spoons. Even 
I, such as you see me, have found pleasure in these 
gross sports ; I have eaten and drunk and danced like 
the others. I have never known European civilization ; 
why should I take the trouble to travel so late in life? 
I would give much to be young and only fifty, again. 
I have ideas of reform which will never be executed ; I 
see myself, like Alexander, without an heir worthy of 
me. I dream of a new organization of brigandage, 
without disorder, without turbulence, and without 
noise. But I have no one to second me. I ought to 
have the exact census of all the inhabitants of the king- 
dom, with an approximate statement of their wealth, 
personal and real. As for the strangers who land on 
our shores, an agent established at each port would 
learn and send to me their names, their itinerary, and, 

7 


98 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


as nearly as possible, their fortune. In this way, I 
would know what each one could give me; and I 
would not make the mistake of asking too little or too 
much. I would establish on each road a post, with 
proper clerks, well brought-up and well educated; be- 
cause, for what good, to frighten clients with disgust- 
ing behavior or a surly mien? I have seen, in France 
and in England, thieves, elegant to excess; and did 
they not certainly succeed better because of it? 

“I would demand of all my subordinates, exquisite 
manners, above all, from those whose business it was 
to accost people. I would have for prisoners of dis- 
tinction like you, comfortable quarters in the open air, 
with fine gardens. And do not think that they would 
cost the occupants more dearly; to the contrary ! If all 
those who traveled in this country were, necessarily, to 
fall into my hands, I could tax the passers-by for a 
very insignificant sum. So that each nation and each 
traveler would give me only a fourth per cent on their 
principals, I would gain upon the quantity. Then 
brigandage would only be a tax on the circulation; a 
just tax, because it would be proportional; a normal 
tax, because it had always been collected since 
ancient times. We could simplify it, if necessary, by 
yearly subscriptions. In consideration of a sum, once 
paid, one could obtain safe conduct for the natives, 
and an indorsed pass-port for travelers. You say that 
according to the terms of the Constitution no tax could 
be imposed without the vote of the Chambers. Ah! 
Monsieur, if I only had time! I would buy the whole 
Senate; I would nominate a Chamber of Deputies, 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 99 

friendly to me ! A law would be passed, in a trice ! One 
could create, if necessary, a Ministry of the Highway. 
That might cost me two or three millions, at first; but 
in four years I could square myself — , and I could 
keep the roads in order, into the bargain!” 

He sighed heavily, then he said: ^‘You see with what 
freedom I have spoken to you. It is an old habit, of 
which I can never break myself. I have lived, always, 
in the open air and in the sunlight. Our profession 
would be shameful if exercised clandestinely. I hide 
nothing about myself, but I fear no one. When you 
read in the papers, that search is being made for me, 
say without hesitation that it is a parliamentary fic* 
tion; it is always known where I am. I fear neither 
Ministers, the Army, nor the Tribunals. The Ministers 
know that by a gesture I can change a Cabinet. The 
Army is on my side; it furnishes me with recruits, 
when I need them. I receive from it, soldiers; I re- 
turn, officers. As for Messieurs, the Judges, they 
know my opinion of them. I do not esteem them, but 
I pity them. Poor, and badly recompensed, one cannot 
expect them to be honest. I have fed some, and 
clothed others ; I have hung very few in my life ; I am, 
then, the benefactor of the magistracy.” 

He pointed out to me with a magnificent gesture, 
the sky, the sea, the country: ^‘All that,” said he, 
‘‘is mine ! Every breathing thing in the kingdom sub- 
mits to me through fear, friendship or admiration. I 
have made many weep, and there is not one mother 
who would wish to have a son like Hadgi-Stavros. A 
day will come, when doctors, like you, will write my 


100 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


history, and when the isles of the Archipelago will dis- 
pute the honor of my birthplace. My portrait will hang 
on the walls of the houses, to keep company with the 
sacred images in the niches. At that time, my daugh- 
ter’s grandchildren will be reigning princes, who will 
speak with pride of their ancestor, the King of the 
Mountains!’’ 

Perhaps you will laugh at my German simplicity; 
but this strange discourse moved me profoundly. I 
admired, in spite of myself, this grandeur in crime. I 
had not, until then, ever met a majestic rascal. This 
devil of a man, who might cut off my head at the end 
of a month, almost inspired me with respect. His 
grand face, as if carved from marble, serene in the 
midst of the orgies, seemed to me like an inflexible 
mask of destiny. I could not restrain myself from say- 
ing: “Yes, you are, truly, a King!” 

He smilingly answered: 

“In truth, then, I have flatterers even among my 
enemies. Do not defend yourself; I can read faces, 
and you have looked at me since morning, as if you 
would like to hang me.” 

“Since you have asked me to be frank, I confess 
that I have been angry. You have asked me a most 
unreasonable ransom. That you can take a hundred 
thousand francs from these ladies, who have them, is a 
very natural thing, and what might be expected of you ; 
but that you should exact fifteen thousand from me, 
who has nothing, it is outrageous.’’ 

“Nothing, however, is more simple. All strangers 
who come here are rich, because traveling costs. You 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


101 


pretend that you are not traveling at your own ex- 
penses; I would like to believe you. But those who 
have sent you here give you at least three or four 
thousand francs yearly. If they go to this expense, 
they have their reasons, because one does nothing for 
nothing. You represent, in their eyes, a capital of 
sixty to eighty thousand francs. Then, in ransoming 
you for fifteen thousand, they gain by it.’’ 

“But the establishment which pays me has no capi- 
tal; it has only revenues. The appropriation for the 
Jardin des Plantes is voted every year by the Senate; 
its resources are limited; one has never known a paral- 
lel case; I know not how to explain it to you — you 
could not comprehend — ’’ 

“And when I did comprehend it,” he replied in a 
haughty tone, “do you believe that I would take back 
what I have said? My words are laws; if I wish to 
have them respected, I must not violate them myself. 

“I have a right to be unjust; I have not the right to 
be weak. My injustices injure others; a weakness 
would ruin me. If I was known to be exorable, my 
prisoners would endeavor to find prayers to win me, 
instead of endeavoring to find money to pay me. I 
am not one of your European brigands who are a 
medley of sternness and generosity, of speculation and 
imprudence, of cruelty without cause, and comparison 
without excuse, in order to end, foolishly, on the scaf- 
fold. I have said, before witnesses, that I must have 
fifteen thousand francs for your head. Arrange it to 
suit yourself; but, in some way or other, I must be 
paid. Listen: in 1854, I condemned two little girls 


102 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


who were the age of my dear Photini. They held out 
their arms to me, weeping, and their cries made my 
fatherly heart bleed. Vasile, who killed them, tried 
many times; his hand trembled. And yet I was in- 
flexible, because the ransom was not paid. Do you 
think, after that, that I would show you grace? What 
purpose would it have served me to kill them, the poor 
things! if one learned that I sent you away for noth- 
ing?” 

I dropped my head without a word in reply. I had a 
thousand reasons; but I knew not how to oppose them 
to the pitiless logic of this old executioner. He aroused 
me from my reflections with a friendly tap on the 
shoulder. “Have courage,” he said to me. “I have 
seen death nearer to me than you are, and I carried 
myself like an oak. During the war of Independence, 
Ibrahim ordered me to be shot by seven Egyptians. 
Six balls failed of their duty; the seventh struck me 
on the forehead and glanced off. When the Turks 
came to pick up my body, I had disappeared in the 
smoke. You have, perhaps, a longer time to live than 
you think you have. Write to your friends in Ham- 
burg. You have received an education; a doctor ought 
to have friends worth more than fifteen thousand 
francs. I really wish so. I do not hate you! you 
have never harmed me! your death would cause me 
no pleasure, and it would please me to believe that you 
will find the means for paying the money. While 
waiting, go and remain with the ladies. My people 
may drink a drop too much, and they look upon the 
English with eyes that say nothing good. These poor 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


103 


devils are condemned to an austere life, and they are 
not seventy years old, as I am. In ordinary times, I 
can keep them obedient by fatigue; but to-day, it is 
different ; in an hour, I cannot answer for them.” 

In truth, a menacing circle had already formed itself 
around Mary-Ann, who looked at these strange figures 
with innocent curiosity. The brigands, crouched 
before her, talked in loud tones, and praised her beauty 
in terms that it was well she did not comprehend. The 
Corfuan, who was making up for lost time, held out 
to her a cup of wine, which she proudly repulsed. 

Five or six drinkers, more inflamed than the rest, 
began to fight among themselves, as if to warm them- 
selves up and toughen themselves for later and harder 
exploits. I made a sign to Mrs. Simons; the ladies 
both rose. But the moment I offered my arm to Mary- 
Ann, Vasile, red with wine, advanced with a staggering 
gait, and made as if to take hold of her. At this sight, 
I was furious. I jumped at the miserable cur and I 
made of my ten fingers a cravat for him. He clapped 
his hands to his belt, and gropingly felt for the handle 
of the knife; but before he could find it, I saw him 
torn from my hands and thrown ten feet away, by the 
powerful hand of the old King. A murmur arose from 
the crowd. Hadgi-Stavros raised his head and in a 
tone which dominated the noise, cried: ‘‘Silence! 
Show that you are Greeks and not Albanians!” He 
added in a low tone: “Make haste! the Corfuan shall 
not leave me; M. German, tell the ladies that I will 
sleep at the door of their tent.” 

He went with us, preceded by his pipe-bearer, who 


104 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


never left him, day or night. Two or three men, in- 
flamed with wine, made as if to follow us; he repulsed 
them rudely. We were not a hundred feet from the 
crowd, when a ball whizzed by us. The old Palikar did 
not deign to turn his head. He looked at me and 
smiled, and said in a low tone: “One must be in- 
dulgent; it is the day of the Ascension.’^ Reaching the 
path, I profited by the stupidity of the Corfuan, who 
was tumbling along, to ask Mrs. Simons for a private 
interview. “I have,’’ I said to her, “an important secret 
to confide to you! Permit me to come to your tent, 
when our spy sleeps the sleep of Noah.” 

I knew not whether this Biblical comparison seemed 
irreverent; but she dryly replied that she knew enough 
not to have any secrets with me. I insisted; she was 
firm. I told her I had found a means of freeing our- 
selves without impoverishing us. She threw me a 
glance of defiance, consulted her daughter, and at last, 
acquiesced. Hadgi-Stavros made easy our interview, 
by keeping the Corfuan near him. He had his carpet 
spread at the top of the natural staircase which led to 
our camp, placed his arms near at hand, made the 
pipe-bearer lie down upon his right and the Corfuan 
on his left. 

I kept prudently within my tent until three distinct 
snores assured me that our guardians were asleep. The 
tumult had almost subsided. Two or three shots oc- 
casionally disturbed the silence of the night. Our 
neighbor, the nightingale, poured forth his song. I 
carefully crept along in the shadow of the trees, until I 
reached Mrs. Simons’ tent. Mother and daughter were 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


105 


waiting for me, outside, on the damp grass. English 
custom forbade my entrance to the sleeping-room. 

“Speak, Monsieur,” said Mrs. Simons, “but be quick 
about it. You know that we need rest.” 

I replied with assurance: “Mesdames, what I have 
to say to you is well worth an hour of sleep. Would 
you like to be free in three days?” 

“But, Monsieur, we shall be to-morrow, or England 
will not be England. Dimitri ought to have apprised 
my brother by 5 o’clock; my brother would see our 
Minister at dinner-time; orders ought to have been 
given at once; the soldiers are already on the way, and 
we shall be free in the morning, in time for breakfast.” 

“Let us not deceive ourselves! time passes. I do not 
count upon the gendarmes! Our captors speak too 
lightly of them, to fear them. I have always heard, 
that in this country, hunter and game, gendarme and 
brigand, are in collusion with each other. I suppose, 
strictly speaking, that some men may be sent to our 
aid; Hadgi-Stavros will see them coming and will drag 
us, by lonely paths, to another and more remote re- 
treat. He knows the country, thoroughly; all the 
rocks are his accomplices, every bush his ally, the 
ravines his “fence” (receiver of stolen goods). Par- 
nassus is leagued with him against us; he is the King 
of the Mountains!” 

“Bravo, Monsieur! Hadgi-Stavros is God, and you 
are his Prophet! He would be touched to hear with 
what admiration you speak of him! I have already 
divined that you are one of his friends, seeing how he 
put his hand on your shoulder, as if he was speaking 


106 THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 

to you in confidence. Is it not he who has suggested 
the plan of escape which you have come to propose?” 

“Yes, Madame, it is he; or rather, his correspond- 
ence. I found, this morning, while he was dictating to 
his secretaries, the infallible means of freeing us gratis. 
Will you write to Monsieur, your brother, to send a 
sum of 115,000 francs, 100,000 for you and i5jOOO 
me, by some safe person, say, Dimitri?” 

“By your friend, Dimitri, to your friend, the King 
of the Mountains? Many thanks, my dear Monsieur. 
It is for this price that we are to be freed for nothing?” 

“Yes, Madame. Dimitri is not my friend and Hadgi- 
Stavros would not scruple to cut off my head. But I 
will continue; in exchange for the money, you shall 
insist that the King sign a receipt.” 

“And a fine receipt it would be.” 

“With this paper, you would get back your 115,000 
francs, without losing a centime, and you will see how.” 

“Good evening. Monsieur, Do not waste time to 
say any more. Since we landed in this miserable coun- 
try we have been robbed by everybody. The Customs- 
officers robbed us; the man who drove us to Athens 
robbed us; our inn-keeper has robbed us; our servant, 
hired by the day, who is not your friend, has thrown 
us into the hands of these thieves; we met a respectable 
monk, who shared the spoils with the brigands ; all the 
men who were drinking up there are knaves; those 
who sleep before our tent, to protect us, are of the 
same class; you are the only honest man whom we 
have met in Greece, and your counsels are the best in 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 107 

the world! but good-evening, Monsieur! good-even- 
ing r 

‘‘In the name of heaven, Madame! — I will not at- 
tempt to justify myself, think what you will of me. 
Only permit me to tell you how you can get back your 
money.’’ 

“And how do you think I can get it back, if all the 
soldiers of the kingdom cannot free us? Hadgi-Stavros 
is, then, no longer King of the Mountains? He knows 
no more hidden paths? The ravines, the bushes, the 
rocks, are no longer his accomplices? Good-evening, 
Monsieur; I can testify to your zeal; I will tell the 
brigands that you have executed their commission; 
but once for all. Monsieur, good-evening!” 

The good woman gave me a push by the shoulders, 
crying “good-evening” in so shrill a tone, that I trem- 
bled lest she should awaken our guardians, and I sor- 
rowfully went to my tent. What a day ! I went over, 
one by one, all the incidents which had occurred since 
the hour I left in pursuit of the boryana variabilis. The 
meeting with the Englishwomen, Mary-Ann’s beauti- 
ful eyes, the attack or the brigands, the dogs, the fleas, 
Hadgi-Stavros, fifteen thousand francs to pay, my life 
at that price, the orgies of the Ascension, the balls 
whizzing about my ears, the drunken face of Vasile, 
and to crown all, Mrs. Simons’ injustice. And then to 
be taken for a thief! Sleep, which consoled the others, 
did not come to my aid. All the events which had 
happened had over-excited me and I could not sleep. 
Day broke upon my miserable meditations. I followed 
the course of the sun as it rose in the heavens. Some 


108 THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 

confused noises followed, little by little, the silence of 
the night. I had not courage to look at my watch, or 
to turn my head to see what was passing around me. I 
was overcome with fatigue and discouragement. I 
believe if anyone had attempted to roll me down the 
hill, that I would not have put out my hands to stop 
myself. In this prostration of my faculties, I had a 
vision, which partook, at the same time, of a dream 
and an hallucination, because I was neither awake nor 
asleep, and my eyes were neither closed nor open. It 
seemed that I had been buried alive, that my felt tent 
was a catafalque, adorned with flowers, and that some 
one chanted prayers for the dead. Fears seized me; I 
tried to cry out; the words stuck in my throat, or the 
sound of them was drowned in the chants. I heard, 
distinctly, verses and responses, and I recognized that 
funeral services were being celebrated over me, in 
Greek. I made a violent effort to move my right arm; 
it was like lead. I extended my left; it yielded easily, 
striking against the tent and causing something like a 
bouquet to fall. I rubbed my eyes, I rose on my elbow, 
I examined the flowers, fallen from above, and I recog- 
nized in the superb specimen, the boryana variabilis. It 
was certainly the flower! I touched the lobated leaves, 
its gamosepalous calyx, its corolla composed of five 
oblique petals, united at the base by a staminal filament, 
its ten stamens, its ovary with its five loculaments; I 
held in my hand the queen of malvaceae! But by what 
chance had I found it at the bottom of my tomb? and 
how send it so far to the Jardin des Plantes at Ham- 
burg? At this moment, a lively pain drew my aUen- 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


109 


tion to my right arm. One would have said that it was 
the prey of a swarm of invisible little animals. I 
rubbed it with my left hand, and little by little, it be- 
came normal. I had lain with it under my head for 
many hours, and it had become numb. I lived then, 
since pain is one of the privileges of life. But, then, 
what did that funeral chant, which rang obstinately in 
my ears, mean? I raised myself. Our apartment was 
in the same state as on the evening before. Mrs. 
Simons and her daughter were sleeping profoundly. 
A huge bunch of flowers like mine hung from the 
upper part of their tent. It occurred to me that I had 
heard that the Greeks had a custom of decorating their 
dwellings on the night before the first of May. These 
bouquets and the boryana variabilis came, then, from 
the munificence of the King. The funeral chant 
haunted me, I could still hear it. I climbed the stair- 
case which led to the King’s cabinet, and saw a more 
curious spectacle than any that had astonished me the 
evening before. An altar was set up and dressed, 
under the pine. The monk, clothed in magnificent 
pontificals, was celebrating, with imposing dignity, the 
divine office. Our drinkers of the night before, some 
standing, others kneeling in the dust, all religiously 
uncovered, were metamorphosed into little saints. One 
fervently kissed an image painted on wood, another 
made the sign of the cross, the most fervent bowed 
themselves to the ground and wiped the dust with their 
hair. The King’s young pipe-bearer circulated 
through the crowd, with a plate, saying: “Give alms! 
He who giveth to the Church lendeth to the Lord!” 


110 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


And the centimes showered upon the plate, and the 
ring of the coins as they fell upon the copper dish 
made an accompaniment to the voice of the priest and 
the prayers of the suppliants. When I entered the 
assembly of the faithful, each one saluted me with a 
discreet cordiality, which recalled the primitive Church. 
Hadgi-Stavros, near the altar, made place for me at his 
side. He held a large book in his hand, and judge of 
my surprise, when I heard him recite the lessons in a 
loud voice. A brigand, officiating! He had received, 
in his youth, two of the lower orders; he was reader. 
One degree more, he would have been exorcist, and in- 
vested with the power of chasing out devils! Assuredly, 
I am not one of those travelers who are astonished at 
everything, and I practice, energetically enough, the 
nil admirari; but I was wonder-struck and amazed 
before this strange spectacle. Looking on at the genu- 
flections, listening to the prayers, one would have 
supposed these actors guilty, only, of a little idolatry. 
Their faith seemed active and their conviction pro- 
found, but I who had seen them at work and who knew 
how little Christ-like they were in action, I could not 
help saying to myself: “Who is being fooled?’^ 

The office lasted until some minutes after noon. An 
hour afterward, the altar had disappeared, the men 
had begun to drink again, and the good old man (the 
monk) led them. 

The King took me one side and asked me if I had 
written. I promised to do so at once, and he gave me 
reeds, ink and paper. I wrote to John Harris, to 
Christodule, and to my father. I supplicated Christo- 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


Ill 


dule to intercede for me with his old comrade, and I 
told him it was impossible for me to furnish fifteen 
thousand francs. I recommended myself to the cour- 
age and imagination of John Harris, who was not a 
man to leave a friend in trouble. “If any one can save 
me,” I wrote to him, “it is you. I do not know how 
you can do it, but I hope in you v/ith all my soul ; you 
are such a hot-headed fellow! I do not count on your 
finding fifteen thousand francs ransom; it would be 
necessary to borrow them of M. Merinay, who lends 
nothing. You are, moreover, too American to con- 
sent to such g. bargain. Do as you please; set fire to 
the Kingdom; I approve of everything in advance; 
but lose no time. I believe that my head is weak, and 
that my reason will be gone before the end of the 
month.” 

As for my unfortunate father, I kept from him the 
facts. To what good to bring death to his soul, by 
telling him to what dangers I was exposed? I wrote 
to him, as always, the first of the month: that I was 
v;ell, and I hoped my letter would find the family well. 
I added that I was sojourning in the mountains, that 
I had discovered the boryana variabilis and a young 
Englishwoman more beautiful and richer than the 
Princess Ypsoff, of romantic memory. I had not yet 
been able to inspire her with love, for the lack of 
favorable circumstances; but I would find, perhaps, 
some occasion when I could render her some great 
service or show myself to her in my Uncle Rosen- 
thalePs uniform. But I added with a feeling of un- 
conquerable sadness : “Who knows but that I may die 


112 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


a bachelor? Then, it would fall to Frantz or Jean- 
Nicholas to make a fortune for the family. My health 
is better than ever, and my strength is not yet weak- 
ened; but Greece is a traitor which makes short work 
of the most vigorous men. If I am condemned to 
never see Germany again and to die here, some unex- 
pected death, at the end of my travels and my work, 
my last regret would be for my family, and my last 
thought of them.^’ 

The King came up just as I was wiping away a tear, 
and I believe that this mark of weakness made him lose 
some of his esteem for me. 

“Come, young man, have courage! The time is not 
yet come to weep over yourself. What the devil! One 
would say that you had been assisting at your own 
interment. The English lady has written a letter of 
eight pages, and she has not dropped a tear. Go and 
keep her company for a little while. She needs en- 
tertainment. Ah! if you were a man of my temper! 
I swear to you that at your age and in your position, 
I would not remain long a prisoner. My ransom 
would be paid in two days, and I know full well who 
would furnish the funds. You are not married?’’ 

“No.” 

“Oh, well! You do not understand? Return to 
your camping place and make yourself agreeable. I 
have furnished you a fine opportunity to get a fortune. 
If you do not profit by it, you will be foolish, and if 
you do not put me on the list of your benefactors, you 
will be an ingrate.” 

I found Mary-Ann and her mother seated near the 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


113 


cascade. While waiting for their waiting-maid, which 
had been promised them, they were themselves en- 
deavoring to mend their torn habits. The bandits had 
furnished them with thread, or rather with twine, and 
some needles suitable for sewing sails. From time to 
time they stopped their work to look with melancholy 
gaze upon the houses in Athens. It was hard to see 
the city So near, and not to be able to go there except 
at a cost of a hundred thousand francs. I asked them 
how they had slept. The curtness of their reply, 
proved to me that they had been discussing our inter- 
view. At this moment, I noticed Mary-Ann’s hair; 
she was bare-headed, and after washing it at the brook, 
she had left it to dry in the sun. I would never have be- 
lieved that any woman could possess such a profusion 
of soft, glossy chestnut hair. It fell in masses over her 
shoulders and down her back. But it did not hang in 
limp strings like the locks of other women who have 
just washed them. It fell in perfect waves, like the 
surface of a little lake rippled by the wind. I had never 
loved anyone and I ought not to have begun by falling 
in love with a girl who took me for a thief. But I 
confess that I wished, at the price of my life, to save 
those beautiful tresses from the clutches of Hadgi- 
Stavros. I conceived, while sitting there, a plan of 
escape, difficult but not impossible. Our apartment 
(so-called) had two exits, one upon the King^s cabinet, 
or office ; the other, over the precipice. To escape by 
the King's cabinet was absurd! It would be necessary 
to traverse the camp and pass the second line of de- 
fense, guarded by the dogs. There remained the preci- 
8 


114 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


pice. In looking over into the abyss I saw that the 
rock, almost perpendicular, offered enough sinuous 
depression, with tufts of grass, with little saplings, and 
available shrubs of all kinds to permit one to descend 
without breaking one^s neck. What would render 
flight dangerous on this side, was the cascade. The 
brook, which flowed through the place, formed, on the 
side of the mountain, a horribly glistening sheet. It 
would, moreover, be difficult to keep one^s courage, 
while descending the side of the mountain safely, with 
a torrent of water pouring over one’s head. But were 
there no means of turning the course of the stream? 
Perhaps. In examining more closely the place where 
we had slept, I saw that, without any doubt, the water 
had once traversed that spot. Our camping place was, 
then, only the dry bed of a torrent. I raised a corner 
of the carpet which was spread under our feet, and I 
discovered a thick sediment, left by the water. It was 
possible, that some day or other, an earthquake, so 
frequent in those mountains, had broken down an em- 
bankment; or a vein of rock, softer than the others, 
had given passage to the current, and the mass of 
waters had been thrown from its bed. A strip ten feet 
long and three wide, led to the side of the mountain. 
In order to close this sluice, open for many years, and 
imprison the waters in their first reservoir, only two 
hours work was needed. An hour more would be 
enough to drain off the water, and the night wind would 
soon dry the rocks. Our escape, the way thus prepared, 
would not take more than twenty-five minutes. Once 
at the foot of the mountain, we would have Athens be- 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


115 


fore us, and the stars would serve as guides; the paths 
were detestable, but we would run no risk of meeting a 
brigand. When the King would come in the morning 
to make us a visit, to inquire how we had passed the 
night, he would see that we had passed it, running; and, 
as one can acquire knowledge at any age, he would 
learn, to his sorrow, that one cannot count on one’s 
self, and that a cascade was a bad guard for prisoners. 

This project seemed to me so marvelous, that I, at 
once, imparted it to the ladies. They listened, at first, 
as prudent conspirators listen to an irritating agent. 
The younger woman, however, measured, without a 
tremor, the depth of the ravine. “One could do it,” she 
said. “Not alone, but with the help of a strong arm. 
Are you strong. Monsieur?” 

I replied, without knowing why: “I shall be, if you 
will have confidence in me.” These words, to which I 
attached no particular meaning, seemed, without doubt, 
somewhat foolish, for she blushed and turned away her 
head. “Monsieur,” she replied, “it may be that we 
have judged you wrongly; misfortune embitters one. 
I would willingly believe that you are a worthy young 
man.” 

She might have been able to find something more 
agreeable to say ; but she gave me this half compliment 
in a voice so sweet and a look so sincere, that I was 
moved to the depths of my soul. So true is it, that if 
the air is pretty, the words of a song do not matter. 

She held out to me her beautiful hand, and I had 
already put my own out to take it, when she suddenly 


116 THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 

withdrew it, and said: “Where will you get the material 
for a dike?” 

“Under our feet! the turf!” 

“The water will wash it away.” 

“Not under two hours. After us, the deluge!” 

“Good!” This time she gave me her hand and I was 
about to carry it to my lips, but she quickly withdrew 
it again. “We are guarded night and day, have you 
thought of that?” 

I had not even thought of it, but I was too well on 
my way to recoil before any obstacle. I replied with 
a resolution which astonished me: “The Corfuan? I 
will see to him. I will tie him to a tree.” 

“He will cry out.” 

“I will kill him.” 

“And the arms to do it with?” 

“I will steal them.” To steal! to kill! it seemed 
natural, since I had almost kissed her hand. Judge 
then. Monsieur, of what I might be capable, if ever I 
fell in love! 

Mrs. Simons listened with a certain kindness, and I 
believe, approved of my plan by look and gesture. “My 
dear Monsieur,” she said to me, “your second plan is 
better than your first, yes, infinitely better; I would 
never consent to pay a ransom, even with the certainty 
of receiving it again, immediately. Tell me again then, 
if you please, what you intend to do?” 

“I will tell you the whole plan, Madame. I will 
procure a poniard to-day. To-night, our brigands will 
go to sleep early, and they will sleep soundly. I will 
rise at ten o’clock, I will bind our guard, I will gag 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


117 


him, and if necessary, I will kill him. It would not be 
murder, it would be an execution; he merits twenty 
deaths instead of one. At ten and a half, I will take up 
fifty square feet of turf, you can carry it to the edge of 
the brook, and I will construct the dam ; total, one hour 
and a half. It will take till midnight. We will labor to- 
gether to hasten the work, while the wind will dry off 
our path. One o’clock will come; I will take Mademoi- 
selle on my left arm, we will glide carefully to that 
crevasse, we will hold ourselves up by those bushes, we 
will reach the wild fig-tree, we will stop to rest at that 
green oak, we will creep along to that prominence 
near those red rocks, we will get down to the ravine, 
and we shall be free.” 

“Good! and I?” 

That “I” fell upon my enthusiasm like a douche of 
water. One is not wise in all things, and I had for- 
gotten all about saving Mrs. Simons. Returning to 
help her down was not to be thought of. The ascent 
would be impossible without a ladder. The good 
woman noticed my confusion. She said to me with 
more pity than spite: “My poor man, you see that 
romantic projects always fail at some point. Permit me 
to hold to my first idea of waiting for the gendarmerie. 
I am English, and I have a confirmed habit of placing 
my confidence in the law. I know, moreover, the sol- 
diers of Athens; I have seen them parade in the Palace 
Square. They are handsome fellows and quite soldiers, 
for Greeks. They have long mustaches and percus- 
sion-guns. It is they, pardon me, who will liberate 
us.’^ 


118 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


The Corfuan’s appearance prevented my reply. He 
brought a maid for the ladies. She was an Albanian, 
quite handsome, in spite of her snub nose. Two 
brigands, who were returning to the mountains, had 
forcibly taken her, as she was walking between her 
mother and her betrothed, all dressed in their Sunday 
clothes. She screamed with such agonizing cries that 
it would have pierced a heart of marble, but they con- 
soled her by telling her that they would not only re- 
lease her in fifteen days, but that they would also pay 
her. She accepted her lot bravely and almost rejoiced 
at the misfortune which would increase her dowry. 
Happy country, where the wounds of the heart are 
cured with five franc pieces. This philosophical ser- 
vant was not of very great use to Mrs. Simons; of 
all the different avenues of work open to her sex, she 
knew only farming. As for me, she made life unbear- 
able by the habit she had of nibbling at a clove of 
garlic, as a dainty bit, and through coquetry, as the 
ladies of Hamburg amuse themselves devouring bon- 
bons. 

The day passed without incident. The next day 
seemed to all of us interminably long. 

The Corfuan left us not an instant alone. Mary- Ann 
and her mother searched the horizon for the soldiers, 
but saw nothing. I, who am accustomed to active 
life, fretted at the inactivity. I could have had the range 
of mountains to add to my herbarium, under guard; 
but a certain feeling, I knew not what, held me near 
the ladies. During the night, I slept little; my plan of 
escape obstinately haunted me. I had noticed the place 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


119 


where the Corfuan laid his dagger before going to 
sleep ; but I would have considered it treachery to have 
saved myself without Mary-Ann. 

Saturday morning, between five and six o^clock, an 
unusual noise drew me towards the King’s cabinet. 
My toilet was quickly made; I went to bed fully 
dressed. 

Hadgi-Stavros, standing in the midst of his band, 
was presiding at a noisy council. All the brigands were 
upon the war path, armed to the teeth. Ten or a dozen 
coffers which I had not seen before had been piled on 
some wagon-frames. I divined that they contained the 
baggage and that our captors were preparing to leave 
camp. The Corfuan, Vasile, and Sophocles were con- 
testing something at the top of their voices, and all 
talking together. One could hear from a distance the 
barking of the outside guards. A courier, in tatters, 
ran toward the King, crying: “The gendarmes!’’ 


120 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


V. 


THE GENDARMES. 

The King appeared to be little troubled. His eye- 
brows were, however, drawn a little nearer together 
than was usual, and the wrinkles on his forehead 
formed an acute angle between his eyes. He asked the 
courier: 

“Where are they?” 

“Near Castia.” 

“How many companies?” 

“One.” 

“Whose?” 

“I do not know.” 

“Wait!” 

A second messenger was seen running toward the 
King. Hadgi-Stavros cried out to him: “Is it Per- 
icles’ company?” 

“I do not know; I did not see their number.” A 
shot was heard at a distance. “Listen!” commanded 
the King, taking out his watch. The men were silent. 
Four shots followed, a minute apart. The last one 
was followed by a thundering detonation which re- 
sembled platoon-firing. The King, with a smile, put 
his watch back in his pocket. 

“It is all right! Return the baggage to the store- 
room, and serve me with wine of Aegina; it is Pericles’ 
company.” 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


121 


He saw me just as he finished the sentence. He 
called to me, in a jeering tone: 

“Come, Monsieur German, you are not de trop. It is 
well to rise early; one sees curious things. Your 
thirst has awakened you! Will you drink a glass of 
wine of Aegina with our brave gendarmes?” 

Five minutes later three enormous goat-skin bottles 
were brought from some secret hiding place. A senti- 
nel approached the King. 

“Good news! They are Pericles^ men!” 

A few of the bandits were in advance of the troops. 
The Corfuan, a fine talker, skipped along by the Cap- 
tain’s side, his tongue running. A drum was heard; 
then a blue flag was seen, and sixty men, fully armed, 
marched in double file to the King’s Cabinet. I rec- 
ognized M. Pericles, because I had admired him on the 
promenade at Athens. He was a young officer of thir- 
ty-five, dark, a coxcomb, admired by the ladies, the 
best waltzer at Court, and wearing his epaulets with 
grace. He put up his sword, ran to the King of the 
Mountains, who kissed him on the mouth, saying, 
“Good morning, godfather!” 

“Good morning, little one,” the King replied, caress- 
ing his cheek with his hand. “Thou art well?” 

“Yes. And thou?” 

“As thou seest. And thy family?” 

“My uncle, the Bishop, has a fever.” 

“Bring him here, I will cure him. The Prefect of 
Police is better?” 

“A little; he sends his kind regards; the Minister 
also.” 


122 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


“What is newr 

“A ball at the Palace on the 15th. It is decided; 
the ‘Siecle’ publishes it!” 

“Thou dancest, then, all the time? And what about 
the Bourse?’^ 

“There is a general fall in stocks.” 

“Good! hast thou letters for me?” 

“Yes; here they are. Photini’s was not ready. She 
will send it by the post.” 

“A glass of wine: .... Thy health, little one!” 

“God bless thee, godfather! Who is this Frank 
who is listening to us?” 

“Nothing! A German of no consequence. Thou 
hast not news for us?” 

“The paymaster-general sends 20,000 francs to Ar- 
gos. They will pass by the Sciromian Rocks to-mor- 
row night.” 

“I will be there. Will a large band be necessary?” 

“Yes! the coffer is guarded by two companies.” 

“Good or bad?” 

“Detestable! Men who are dead shots.” 

“I will take all my band. In my absence thou wilt 
guard our prisoners?” 

“With pleasure. Apropos, I have the most rigid or- 
ders. Thy English prisoners have written to their Am- 
bassador. They have called the entire army to their 
aid.” 

“And it is I who furnished them the paper!” 

“It is necessary, in consequence, that I write my re- 
port. I will recount a bloody battle.” 

“We will write it out together.” 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


123 


“Yes. This time, godfather, I must be the victor.” 

“No!” 

“Yes! I wish to be decorated.” 

“Thou shalt be, some other time. What an insa- 
tiable ! It is only a year since I made thee Captain.” 

“But understand, dear godfather, that it is for thy 
interest to be conquered. When the world shall learn 
that thy band is dispersed, confidence will be restored, 
travelers will again pour into the country and thou 
wilt make thy fortune.” 

“Yes, but if I am conquered the Bourse will send 
up stocks, and I am speculating on a fall.” 

“That is another affair! At least, let me kill a dozen 
men!” 

“So be it! That will harm no one. On my side I 
must kill ten.” 

“How! One will see on our return that our com- 
pany is full.” 

“Not so! Thou shalt leave them here; I need re- 
cruits.” 

“In that case, I recommend to thee little Spiro, my 
adjutant. He is a graduate of the military school, he 
has been well instructed and is intelligent. The poor 
boy gets only 78 francs a month, and his parents are 
not very well satisfied. If he remains in the army he 
will not become a sub-lieutenant under five or six 
years ; the staffs are complete. But let him make him- 
self remarked in thy troop ; they will offer to bribe him, 
and he would have his nomination in six months.” 

“Good for the little Spiro! Does he speak French.?” 

“Passably.” 


124 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


“I will keep him, perhaps. If he does well for me, 
I will include him in the enterprise; he might be a 
stockholder. Thou wilt receive our account rendered 
for the year. I give 82 per cent.” 

“Bravo! my eight shares will bring me more than 
my Captain’s pay. Ah! godfather, what career is 
mine ?” 

“What dost thou risk? Thou couldst be a brigand, 
but for thy mother’s notions. She has always pretended 
that thou hast lacked a* vocation. To thy health ! And 
to yours, M. German! I present to you my godson. 
Captain Pericles, a charming young man who knows 
many languages, and who will replace me during my 
absence. My dear Pericles, I present to thee Mon- 
sieur, who is a doctor and is valued at fifteen thousand 
francs. Canst thou believe that this tall doctor, all 
doctor as he is, has not yet found out how to pay his 
ransom through our English captives. The world has 
degenerated, little one : it was better in my day.” 

Thereupon, he nimbly rose and hastened to give 
some orders for departure. Was it the pleasure of en- 
tering on a campaign, or the joy of seeing his godson? 
He seemed rejuvenated; he was twenty years younger, 
he laughed, he jested, he shook off his royal dignity. 
I would never have supposed that the only event ca- 
pable of cheering a brigand would be the arrival of 
the gendarmerie. Sophocles, Vasile, the Corfuan and 
the other chiefs carried the King’s orders through the 
camp. Every one was soon ready to depart, owing 
to the morning’s activity. The young adjutant, Spiro, 
and the nine men chosen from ajnong the gendarmes 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


125 


exchanged their uniforms for the picturesque dress of 
the bandits. This was a veritable lightning-change; 
the Minister of War, if he had been there, would 
have almost been unable to have told how it was done. 
The newdy-made brigands seemed to feel no regret for 
their former employment. The only ones who mur- 
mured were those who remained under the old flag. 
Tw^o or three veterans loudly complained that the se- 
lection had not been well made, and that no account 
had been taken of seniority. A few old soldiers vaunted 
their exploits and laid claim to having served the re- 
quired time in brigandage. The Captain soothed them 
as best he could, and promised them that their turn 
should come. 

Hadgi-Stavros, before departing, gave all his keys 
to his representative. He showed him the grotto where 
the wine w^as kept, in the cave in which was the flour, 
the cheese packed in a crevice, and the trunk of a tree 
in which w’as kept the coffee. He instructed him in 
every precaution which was to be taken to prevent our 
escape and to keep possession of so splendid a sum. 
The handsome Pericles smilingly replied: “What dost 
thou fear? I ani a stockholder.” 

At seven o’clock in the morning the King put him- 
self at the head of his band, and the men marched 
forth in single file. They marched toward the north, 
keeping their backs to the Sciromian Rocks. They 
made a long detour, by a path which was easy, to the 
bottom of the ravine which was below our camping 
place. The bandits sang at the top of their voices while 
wading through the brook formed by the waters of 


126 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. ' 


the cascade as they fell into the ravine. The war-song 
was a story of Hadgi-Stavros’ youth, consisting of four 
verses: 

“The Clephte aux yeux noirs descend dans les plaines; 

Sonfusil dord ” 

“You ought to know it; the little Athenian lads sing 
nothing else on the way to Catechism.” 

Mrs. Simons, who slept near her daughter, and who 
was always dreaming of the gendarmes, jumped up 
and ran to the window, that is to say, the cascade. She 
was cruelly disappointed in seeing enemies, when she 
expected to find saviors. She recognized the King, the 
Corfuan, and several others. What was the most as- 
tonishing thing to her was the formidable appearance 
and numbers of this morning expedition. She counted 
sixty men following Hadgi-Stavros. “Sixty,” she 
thought; “there only remains twenty, then, to guard 
us?” The idea of escape, which she had scorned the 
night before, now presented itself to her with some 
favor. In the midst of these reflections she saw the 
rear-guard appear, and which she had not counted. 
Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty men! 
Then there was no one left in the camp! “We are 
free! Mary-Ann,” she cried. The men still filed past. 
The band itself consisted of eighty men; ninety 
marched by; a dozen dogs came behind, but she took 
no trouble to count them. 

Mary-Ann arose at her mother’s call and came 
quickly from the tent. 

“Free!” cried Mrs. Simons. “They have all left, 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


127 


What did I say? all! Even a larger number has gone 
than was here. Let us hasten away, my daughter!” 

She hurried to the top of the staircase and saw the 
King’s camp occupied by the soldiers. The Greek flag 
floated triumphantly at the summit of the pine tree. 
Hadgi-Stavros^ place was occupied by M. Pericles. 
Mrs. Simons threw herself into his arms in such a 
transport that he had hard work to free himself from 
her embrace. 

“Angel of God!’^ she said to him, “the brigands have 
gone.’^ 

The Captain replied in English: “Yes, Madame.” 

“You have put them to flight?” 

“It is true, Madame, that but for us they would still 
be here.’’ 

“Excellent young man! The battle must have been 
terrible !” 

“Not so! a battle without tears. I had only to say a 
word.” 

“And we are free?” 

“Assuredly !” 

“We may return to Athens?” 

“When it pleases you.” 

“C3h, well ! let us depart at once.” 

“Impossible, for the moment.” 

“What would we do here?” 

“Gur dut} to our conquerors; we will guard the 
battle ground.” 

“Mary-Ann, give thy hand to Monsieur.” 

The young English girl obeyed. 

“Monsieur,” said Mrs. Simons, “it is God who sends 


128 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


you here. We had lost all hope. Our only protector 
was a young German of the middle class, a savant who 
gathers herbs and who wished to save us by the most 
preposterous means. At last, you have come! I was 
sure that we would be delivered by the gendarmerie. Is 
it not so, Mary- Ann 

“Yes, Mamma.’' 

“Know, Monsieur, that these bandits are the vilest 
of men. They began by taking everything from us.” 

“All?” asked the Captain. 

“All, except my watch, which I took the precaution 
to hide.” 

“You did well, Madame. And they kept all that 
they took from you?” 

“No, they returned three hundred francs, a silver 
traveling case and my daughter’s watch.” 

“These things are still in your possession?” 

“Certainly.” 

“They did not take from you your rings and your 
ear-rings?” 

“No, Monsieur le Capitainc.” 

“Will you be good enough to give them to me?” 

“Give you what?” 

“Your rings, your ear-rings, the silver traveling 
case, two watches and the sum of three hundred 
francs.” 

Mrs. Simons cried out: “What! Monsieur, you 
would take from us the articles the bandits returned 
to us?” 

The Captain replied with dignity: “Madame, I must 
do my duty.” 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


129 


“Your duty is to despoil us?’’ 

“My duty is to collect all the articles for necessary 
conviction in the trial of Hadgi-Stavros.” 

“He will then be tried?” 

“Since we have taken him.” 

“It seems to me that our jewels and our money 
would serve nothing, and that you have sufficient tes- 
timony to hang him. First of all, he captured two 
Englishwomen; what more is necessary?” 

“It is necessary, Madame, that the forms of justice 
be observed.” 

“But, dear sir, among the articles which you demand 
there are some which I prize highly.” 

“The more reason, Madame, to confide them to my 
care.” 

“But if I had no watch I should never ” 

“Madame, it will always give me pleasure to tell you 
the hour.” 

Mary-Ann observed in her turn that it was disa- 
greeable to her to be obliged to give up her ear-rings. 

“Mademoiselle,” the gallant Captain replied, “you 
are beautiful enough not to need jewels. You can do 
better without gems than your gems can do without 
you.” 

“You are very, good. Monsieur, but my silver dress- 
ing case or necessaire is an indispensable article. What 
one calls a necessaire is a thing with which one can- 
not dispense.” 

“You are a thousand times right. Mademoiselle. So 
I beg of you not to insist upon that point. Do not 
add to the regret with which I have already legally de- 
9 


130 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


spoiled two so distinguished persons. Alas! Mad- 
emoiselle, we military men, we are the slaves of orders, 
instruments of the law, men of duty. Deign to accept 
my arm, I will do myself the honor of conducting you 
to your tent. There, we will proceed to the inventory, 
if you will be good enough to permit it.” 

I lost not one word of this conversation, and I kept 
silent to the end; but when I saw this rascal of an 
officer offer his arm to Mary-Ann in order to politely 
plunder her, I became enraged, and I marched up to 
him to tell hini what I thought of him. He must have 
read in my eyes the exordium of my discourse, because 
he threw a menacing look at me, left the ladies at the 
staircase of their chamber, placed a sentinel there, and 
returned to me, saying: 

“Between us two!” 

He drew me, without adding a word, to the rear of 
the King’s cabinet. There, he seated himself before 
me, looked me straight in the eyes, and said: 

“Monsieur, you understand English?” 

I confessed my knowledge. He added: 

“You know Greek, also?” 

“Yes, Monsieur.” 

“Then, you are too learned. Do you understand my 
godfather, who amuses himself recounting our affairs 
before you? That is of no importance to him; he has 
nothing to hide; he is King, he is responsible to no 
one but himself. As for me, what the devil ! put your- 
self in my place. My position is delicate, and I have 
many affairs to manage. I am not rich; I have only 
my pay, the esteem of my chiefs, and the friendship of 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


131 


the brigands. A traveler’s indiscretion might cost me 
my promotions.” 

“And you count on the fact that I will keep your 
infamies secret?” 

“When I count on anything, Monsieur, my confi- 
dence is rarely misplaced. I do not know that you will 
leave these mountains alive, and yet your ransom may 
never be paid. If my godfather would cut off your 
head, I should be satisfied you would not talk. If, on 
the contrary, you should return to Athens, I counsel 
you, as a friend, to keep silent about what you have 
seen. Imitate the discretion of the late Madame la 
Duchesse de Plaisance, who was taken captive by Bibi- 
chi and who died ten years later without having re- 
lated to any one the details of her captivity. Do you 
know a proverb which runs: “The tongue cuts off 
the head?” Meditate seriously upon it, and do not put 
yourself in a place to exactly verify it.” 

“The menace ” 

“I do not menace you, Monsieur, I am a man too 
well brought up to resort to threats, I warn you! If 
you should gossip, it is not I who would avenge myself. 
All the men in my company adore their Captain. They 
are even more warmly interested in my interests than 
I am myself; they would be pitiless, to my great re- 
gret, to any indiscreet person who had caused me any 
trouble.” 

“What do you fear, if you have so many accom- 
plices?” 

“I fear nothing from the Greeks, and, in ordinary 
times, I should insist less strongly on my orders. We 


132 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


have, among our chiefs, some fanatics who think that 
we ought to treat bandits like Turks; but I have also 
found some who are on the right side, in case it came 
to an internecine struggle. The misfortune is that 
the diplomats would interfere, and the presence of a 
stranger would, without doubt, injure my cause. If 
any misfortune happens to me through you, do you 
see, Monsieur, to what you would be exposed? One 
cannot take four steps in the kingdom without meeting 
a gendarme. The road from Athens to Piraeus is un- 
der the vigilance of these quarrelsome persons, and ac- 
cidents frequently occur.” 

“It is well. Monsieur; I will reflect upon it.” 

“And will keep the secret?” 

“You have nothing to ask of me and I have nothing 
to promise. You have advised me of the danger of 
being indiscreet. I accept the advice and I will re- 
frain from speaking of it.” 

“When you return to Germany, you may tell what- 
ever you please. Speak, write, publish; it is of no im- 
portance. The works published against us do no harm 
to any one, unless, perhaps, to their authors. You are 
free to relate the adventure. If you paint, faithfully, 
what you have seen the good people of Europe will 
accuse you of traducing an illustrious and oppressed 
people. Our friends, and we have many among men 
of sixty, will tax you with levity, caprice, and even of 
ingratitude. They will recall that you have been the 
guest of Hadgi-Stravros and mine ; they will reproach 
you with having broken the holy laws of hospitality. 
But the most pleasing thing of the whole will be, that 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 133 

no one will believe you. The public will place no con- 
fidence in seeming lies. Try to persuade the cockneys 
of Paris, of London, of Berlin, that you have seen a 
Captain of the standing army, embraced by a chief of 
banditti. A company of choice troops acting as guards 
to Hadgi-Stavros’ prisoners, in grder to give him the 
opportunity of capturing the army coffers ! The high- 
est State functionaries founding a stock company for 
the purpose of plundering travelers! As well tell them 
that the mice of Attica have formed an alliance with the 
cats, and that our sheep take their food from the 
wolves^ mouths! Do you know what protects us 
against the displeasure of Europe? It is the improb- 
ability of our civilization. Happily for the kingdom, 
everything which will be written against us will be too 
unnatural to be believed. I can cite to you a little book, 
which is not in praise of us, although it is accurate 
from beginning to end. It has been read, somewhat, 
everywhere ; in Paris they found it curious, but I know 
of only one city where it seemed true! Athens! I do 
not prevent you from adding a second volume, but wait 
until away; if not, there possibly might be a drop 
of blood on the last page.” 

“But,” I answered, “if I should commit an indiscre- 
tion before my departure, how could you know that I 
was to blame?” 

“You, alone, are in my secret. The Englishwomen 
are persuaded that I have delivered them from Hadgi- 
Stavros. I charge myself with keeping up the delusion 
until the King’s return. It will be for only two days, 
three at the most. We are forty kilometres from the 


134 THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 

Scironian Rocks; our friend will reach there in the 
night. They will make the attack to-morrow evening, 
and conquerors or conquered, they will be here Mon- 
day morning. We can prove to the prisoners that the 
brigands surprised us. While my godfather is absent, 
I will protect you against yourself by keeping you 
away from these ladies. I will borrow your tent. You 
ought to see. Monsieur, that I have a more delicate skin 
than this worthy Hadgi-Stavros, and that I ought not 
to expose my complexion to the changes of tempera- 
ture! What would be said, on the 15th, at the Court 
Ball if I presented myself brown as a peasant? I must, 
moreover, give those poor captives the benefit of my 
society; it is my duty as their liberator. As for you, 
you will sleep here in the midst of my soldiers. Permit 
me to give an order, which concerns you. lanni! Brig- 
adier lanni! I confide Monsieur to thy care! Place 
around him four guards, who will watch him night 
and day, accompany him everywhere, fully armed. 
Thou wilt relieve them every two hours. Forward!'’ 

He saluted me with ironical politeness, and humming 
a tune, descended Mrs. Simons’ staircase. The sentinel 
shouldered arms. 

From that instant there began for me a purgatory 
of which the human mind can have little conception. 
Everyone knows or guesses what a prison would be; 
but try to imagine a living and moving prison, the four 
walls of which come and go, recede and approach, turn 
and return, rubbing hands, scratching, blowing noses, 
shaking, floundering about, and obstinately fixing 
eight great black eyes upon the prisoner. I tried to 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS 


135 


walk; my prison of eight feet regulated the step to 
mine. I went toward the front of the camp; the two 
men who preceded me stopped short, I bumped into 
them. This incident explained to me an inscription 
which I had often seen, without understanding it, in the 
neighborhood of camps: "‘Limit of Garrison!’^ I 
turned around ; my four walls turned like the scenes in 
a theater where a change of view is required. At last, 
tired of this way of promenading, I sat down. My 
prison seated itself around me; I resembled an intox- 
icated man who sees his house turn. I closed my eyes; 
the measured step of the sentinels wearied my brain. 
At least, I thought if these four soldiers would but 
speak to me! I spoke to them in Greek; it was a se- 
ductive agent which had never failed me with sentinels. 
It was clear loss of time. The walls had, possibly, ears, 
but the use of the voice was denied them ; no one spoke 
under arms; I attempted bribery. I drew from my 
pocket the money which Hadgi-Stavros had returned 
and which the Captain had forgotten to take from me. 
I distributed it to the four cardinal points of my lodge. 
The somber and frowning walls changed to a smiling 
front, and my prison was illumined as with a ray of 
sunlight. But five minutes later the Brigadier relieved 
the guards; it was just two hours that I had been a 
prisoner! The day seemed long! the night, eternal! 
The Captain had already taken possession of my tent 
and my bed, and the rock which served me for a rest- 
ing place was not as soft as feather. A fine penetrating 
rain cruelly convinced me that a roof was a fine inven- 
tion; and that thatches rendered a true service to so- 


136 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


ciety. If at times, in spite of my unpleasant surround- 
ings, I dropped off to sleep, I was almost always 
awakened by the Brigadier lanni, who ordered a 
change of guards. Finally, what shall I say? At night 
and in dreams I saw Mary-Ann and her respectable 
mother in the hands of their liberator. Ah ! Monsieur, 
how I began to render justice to the good old King of 
the Mountains! How I retracted all the maledictions 
which I had hurled against him I How I regretted his 
kind and paternal government! How I sighed for his 
return! How warmly did I breathe his name in my 
prayers! “My God!’’ I cried with fervor, “give the 
victory to thy servant, Hadgi-Stavros! Make every 
soldier in the kingdom fall beneath his hand! Bring 
to his hands the coffer, and even to the last ecus of that 
infernal army! And let the bandits return, that we 
may be delivered from the hands of the soldiers !” 

As I finished this prayer, a well-sustained fire was 
heard in the midst of the camp. This occurred many 
times during the day and following night. It was only 
a trick of M. Pericles. In order the better to deceive 
Mrs. Simons and to persuade her that he was defending 
her against an army of bandits, he had ordered that 
volleys should be fired from time to time. 

This pretty conceit came near costing him dear. 
When the brigands arrived in camp, at dawn, on Mon- 
day morning, they believed that a fight was going on 
with a true enemy, and they began to fire some balls, 
which, unfortunately, touched no one. 

I had never seen a defeated army when I assisted 
at the return of the King of the Mountains. The sight 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


137 


had, for me, all the novelty of a first experience. Heaven 
had listened unfavorably to my prayers. The Greek 
soldiers had defended themselves with so much ardor 
that the engagement was prolonged till night. Formed 
in a square around the two mules which carried the 
treasure, they had, at first, returned a regular fire upon 
Hadgi-Stavros’ sharpshooters. The old Palikar, de- 
spairing of killing one by one, a hundred and twenty 
men who would not give an inch, attacked them with 
bare blades. His men assured us that he had per- 
formed marvels, and the blood with which he was cov- 
ered testified to it. But the bayonet had had the last 
word; in other words, had won the day. The troops 
had killed forty brigands, of which one was a dog. A 
regulation bullet had arrested the advancement of 
young Spiro, that young officer with so brilliant a fu- 
ture. I saw march in sixty men, overcome with fa- 
tigue, dusty, bloody, bruised, and wounded. Sophocles 
had been shot in the shoulder; the men were carrying 
him. The Corfuan and a few others had been left on 
the road, some with the shepherds, some in a village, 
and others on the bare rocks beside the path. 

The band was sad and discouraged. Sophocles 
howled with grief. I heard some murmurs against the 
King’s imprudence, who had exposed the lives of his 
men for a miserable sum, instead of peaceably plun- 
dering rich and careless travelers. 

The strongest, the freshest, the most content, the 
gayest of the lot was the King. His face expressed the 
proud satisfaction of a duty accomplished. He recog- 
nized me at once in the midst of my four men, and 


138 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


cordially held out his hand to me. '‘Dear prisoner,” 
he said, “you see a badly treated King. Those dogs of 
soldiers would not give up the treasure. It was their 
money; my trip to the Scironian Rocks brought me 
nothing, and I have lost forty men, without counting 
some wounded who cannot live. But no matter! I 
am well beaten. There were too many of those rascals 

for us, and they had bayonets. Without which . 

Come! this day has rejuvenated me. I have proved 
to myself that I still have blood in my veins!” 

And he hummed the first verse of his favorite song: 

“Un Clephte aux yeux, noirs ” He added: “By 

Jupiter (as Lord Byron said), I would not for twenty 
thousand francs have remained quietly at home since 
Saturday. That can still be put into my history. It 
can be said that, at more than sixty years of age, I 
fought with bare sabre in the midst of bayonets; that 
I killed three or four soldiers with my own hand, and 
that I marched ten leagues in the mountains in order 
to return in time to take my cup of coffee. Cafedgi, 
my child, do thy duty! I have done mine. But where 
the devil is Pericles?” 

The charming Captain was still resting in his tent, 
lanni hurried away to bring him forth, half asleep, his 
mustache uncurled, his head carefully tied up in a 
handkerchief. I know of nothing which will so thor- 
oughly awaken a man as a glass of cold water or bad 
news. When M. Pericles learned that the little Spiro 
and two other soldiers had been left behind, it was 
truly another defeat. He pulled off his handkerchief. 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


139 


and but for the respect he had for his person he would 
have torn his hair. 

“This will do for me,” he cried. “How explain their 
presence among you? and in bandit dress, too! They 
will be recognized ! The others are masters of the bat- 
tle ground. Shall I say that they deserted in order to 
join you? That you made them prisoners? The ques- 
tion will be asked why I said nothing about it. I have 
waited for thy coming to make my final report. I 
wrote last evening that I had thee almost surrounded 
on Parnassus, and that all our men were admirable. 
Holy Virgin I I shall not dare to show myself Sunday 
at Patissia! What will be said the 15th at the Court 
Ball? The whole diplomatic corps will talk me over. 
They will convene the council. Will I yet be in- 
vited?” 

“To the council?” asked the bandit. 

“No; to the Court Ball!” 

“Dancer! Go!” 

“My God! my God! who knows what will be done? 
If the only trouble was about these Englishwomen, I 
would not worry myself. I would confess everything 
to the Minister of War. These English! That was 
enough! But to lend my soldiers to attack the army 
box! To send Spiro into the engagement! They will 
point the finger at me; I shall never dance again!” 

Who was it who rubbed his hands in glee during this 
monologue? It was the son of my father, surrounded 
by his four soldiers! 

Hadgi-Stavros, quietly seated, enjoyed his coffee in 
little sips. He said to his godson; “Thou seemest 


140 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


much troubled! Remain with us. I assure thee a 
minimum of ten thousand francs a year, and I will en- 
roll thy men. We will take our revenge together.’’ 

The offer was alluring. Two days before it would 
have received much approval. And even now it caused 
a faint smile among the soldiers, none from the Cap- 
tain. The soldiers said nothing; they looked at their 
old comrades; they eyed Sophocles’ wound; they 
thought of the deaths of the night before, and they 
turned wistful faces toward Athens, as if they could 
inhale the, to them, sweet odor of the barracks. 

As for M. Pericles, he replied with visible embar- 
rassment: 

‘T thank thee, but I would need to reflect. My hab- 
its are those of a city; I am delicate in health; the 
winters are rigorous in the mountains; I have already 
taken cold. My absence would be noticed at all as- 
semblies; I would be searched for everywhere; fine 
marriages are often proposed to me. Moreover, the 
trouble is not so great as v/e believe it. Who knows 
whether the three unfortunates will be recognized? 
Will news of the event arrive before we do? I will go 
at once to the Ministry; I will find out how matters 
stand. No one will come to contradict me, since the 
two companies have kept on their march to Argos. 
. . . Decidedly, I must be there; I must face the 
music. Care for the wounded. . . . Adieu!” 

He made a sign to his drummer. 

Hadgi-Stavros rose, came and placed himself in 
front of me with his godson, whom he dominated by a 
head, and said to me; “Monsieur, behold a Greek of 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 141 

to-day! I! I am a Greek of former days! And the 
papers pretend that we have progressed P 

At the roll of the drum the walls of my prison fell 
away like the ramparts of Jericho ! Two minutes after- 
ward I was before Mary-Ann’s tent. Mother and 
daughter hastily arose. Mrs. Simons perceived me 
first, and cried out to me : 

“Oh, well! are we to start?” 

“Alas! Madame, we are not there.” 

“Where are we then? The Captain gave us word 
for this morning.” 

“How did you find the Captain?” 

“Gallant, elegant, charming! A little too much the 
slave of discipline; it was his only fault.” 

“Coxcomb and scamp, coward and bully, liar and 
thief; those are his true names, and I will prove it to 
you.” 

“Come, Monsieur; what have the soldiers done to 
you?” 

“What have they done to me, Madame? Deign to 
come with me only to the top of the staircase.” 

Mrs. Simons arrived there just in time to see the 
soldiers defile past, the drummer at the head, the ban- 
dits again installed in their places, the Captain and the 
King mouth to mouth, giving the last good-bye kiss. 
The surprise was a little too much. I had not been 
sufficiently considerate of the good woman, and I was 
punished for it, because she fainted dead away and 
nearly broke my arms as I caught her. I carried her 
to the brook; Mary-Ann rubbed and slapped her 


142 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


hands ; I threw a handful of water in her face. But I 
believe that it was fury which revived her. 

“Miserable wretch!” she cried. 

“He has plundered you, is it not true? Stole your 
watches, your money?” 

“I do not regret my jewels; he may keep them! But 
I would give ten thousand francs to get back the hand- 
shakes I have given him. I am English, and I do not 
clasp hands with every one!” This regret of Mrs. Si- 
mons drew from me a heavy sigh. She let fall upon 
me all the weight of her anger. “It is your fault,” she 
said. “Could you not have warned me? It was only 
necessary to tell me that the brigands were saints in 
comparison !” 

“But, Madame, I advised you that you must put no 
faith in the soldiers.” 

“You told me so; but you said it softly, slowly, cold- 
ly. Could I believe you? Could I divine that this man 
was only Stavros’ jailer? That he remained here to give 
the bandits time to get back? That he frightened us 
with imaginary dangers? That he claimed to have been 
besieged in order to have us admire him? That he 
simulated the night attacks to make it appear that he 
was defending us? I see all now, but tell us if you 
have nothing to say?” 

“My God! Madame, I told all I knew; I did what I 
could !” 

“But, German, who are you? In your place an 
Englishman would have sacrificed his life for us, and 
I would have given him my daughter’s hand!” 

Wild poppies are very scarlet, but I was more than 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


143 


that when I heard Mrs. Simons’ speech. I was so 
troubled that I dared not raise my eyes, nor respond; 
neither did I ask the good woman what she meant by 
her words. Because, in a word, why should a person 
as harsh as she had shown herself to be, use such lan- 
guage before her daughter and before me? By what 
door had this idea of marriage entered her mind? Was 
Mrs. Simons truly a woman to award her daughter, as 
an honest recompense, to the first liberator? There 
were no signs of it. Was it not rather a cruel irony 
addressed to my most secret thoughts? 

When I examined myself I ascertained, with legiti- 
mate pride, the innocent warmth of all my sentiments. 
I render this justice to myself, that the fire of passion 
had not raised a degree the temperature of my heart. 
At each instant of the day, in order to test myself, I 
occupied myself with thinking of Mary-Ann. I built 
castles in Spain, of which she was the mistress. I 
planned romances, of which she was the heroine and 
I the hero. I thought of the most absurd things. I 
imagined events as improbable as the history of the 
Princess Ypsofi and Lieutenant Reynauld. I even 
went so far as to see the pretty English girl seated at 
my right on the back seat of a post-chaise, with her 
beautiful arm around my long neck. All these flattering 
suppositions, which should have agitated deeply a soul 
less philosophical than mine, did not disturb my se- 
renity. I did not experience the alternatives of fear 
and hope which are the symptoms of love. Never, no, 
never, have I felt those great convulsions of the heart 
which are recorded in romances. Then I did not love 


144 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


Mary-Ann. I was a man without reproach. I could 
walk with uplifted head. But Mrs. Simons, who had 
not read my thoughts, was perfectly capable of de- 
ceiving herself as to the nature of my devotion. Who 
knows whether she did not suspect me of being in love 
with her daughter; whether she had not misinterpreted 
my trouble and my timidity; whether she had not let 
slip the word marriage, in order to force me to betray 
myself. My pride revolted against so unjust a sus- 
picion, and I replied in a firm tone, without looking 
her ill the face : 

“Madame, if I was sufficiently fortunate to rescue 
you from here, I swear to you that it would not be in 
order to marry your daughter.” 

“And why, then?” she asked, in a tone of pique. “Is 
it because my daughter is not good enough for one to 
marry? I find you agreeable, truly! Is she not pretty 
enough, or of a good enough family? Have I brought 
her up improperly? Is she not a good match? To 
marry Miss Simons, my dear sir! it is a beautiful 
dream ! and most difficult to be gratified !” 

“Alas ! Madame,” I replied, “you have seriously mis- 
understood me. I confess that Mademoiselle is perfect, 
and, if her presence did not make me timid, I would tell 
you what passionate admiration she inspired in me the 
first day. It is precisely for that reason that I have 
not the impertinence to think that any chance could 
raise me to her level!’’ 

I hoped that my humility would touch this dreadful 
mother. But her anger was not in the least appeased. 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


145 


‘‘Why?’’ she cried. “Why are you not worthy of my 
daughter? Answer me, then!” 

“But, Madame, I have neither fortune nor posi- 
tion.” 

“A fine affair! no position! You would have one. 
Monsieur, if you married my daughter. To be my 
son-in-law, is not that a position? You have no for- 
tune! Have we ever asked money of you? Have we 
not enough for ourselves, for you, and for many oth- 
ers? Moreover, the man who would rescue us from 
here, would he not receive a present of a hundred 
thousand francs? It is a small sum, I confess, but it 
is something. Will you say that a hundred thousand 
francs is a miserable sum? Then, why are you not 
worthy to marry my daughter?” 

“Madame, I am not ” 

“Come! What is it you are not? You are not 
English?” 

“Oh! by no means!” 

“Eh! well! you cannot believe that we are foolish 
enough to make a crime of your birth? Eh! Monsieur, 
I know very well that it is not permitted to all the 
world to be English! The entire earth cannot be 
English — at least, not for many years. But one may 
be an honest man and a learned man without having 
really been born in England.” 

“As for integrity, Madame, it is a virtue which we 
transmit from father to son. As for intelligence, I 
have just enough to be a doctor. But, unfortunately, 
I have no illusions in regard to my physical defects, 
and ” 


xo 


146 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


“You wish to say that you are ugly? No, Monsieur, 
you are not ugly. You have an intelligent face. Mary- 
Ann, is not Monsieur’s face intelligent?” 

“Yes, mamma!” Mary- Ann replied. If she blushed 
as she answered her mother saw it better than I, for 
my eyes were fixed obstinately on the ground. 

“Monsieur,’’ added Mrs. Simons, “were you ten 
times uglier, you would not then be as ugly as my late 
husband. And, more than that, I beg you to believe 
that I was as pretty as my daughter the day I gave him 
my hand. What have you to say to that?” 

“Nothing, Madame, except that you confuse me, 
and that it will not be my fault if you are not on the 
road to Athens to-morrow.” 

“What do you count on doing? This time try to 
find a means less ridiculous than that the other day!” 

“I hope to satisfy you if you will listen to me to the 
end.” 

“Yes, Monsieur.” 

“Without interrupting me?” 

“I will not interrupt you. Have I ever interrupted 
you?” 

“Yes!” 

“No!” 

“Yes!” 

“When?” 

“Always! Madame, Hadgi-Stavros has all his funds 
invested in the firm of Barley & Company.” 

“With our firm?” 

“No, 31 Cavendish Square, London. Last Wednes- 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


147 


day he dictated, in our presence, a business letter to 
Mr. Barley.” 

“And you never told me before?” 

“You would never give me the opportunity.” 

“But this is monstrous! Your conduct is inexpli- 
cable! We could have been at liberty six days ago! 
I will go straight to him; I will tell him our rela- 
tions ” 

“And he will demand of you two or three hundred 
thousand francs! Believe me, Madame, the best way 
is to say nothing to him. Pay your ransom; make 
him give you a receipt, and in fifteen days send to him 
a statement, with the following note: ‘Item, 100,000 
francs paid, personally, by Mrs. Simons, our partner, 
as per receipt!^ In this way you will get back your 
money, without the aid of the soldiers. Is it clear?” 

I raised my eyes and saw the pretty smile which 
broke over Mary-Ann’s face as she saw through the 
plot. Mrs. Simons angrily shrugged her shoulders, 
and seemed moved only by ill-humor. 

“Truly,” she said to me, “you are a wonderful man! 
You proposed to us an acrobatic escape when we had 
such simple means at our command! And you have 
known it since Wednesday morning! I will never 
pardon you for not having told me the first day.” 

“But, Madame, will you not remember that I begged 
you to write to Monsieur, your brother, to send you a 
hundred and fifteen thousand francs?” 

“Why a hundred and fifteen?” 

“I mean to say a hundred thousand.” 

“No! a hundred and fifteen. That is right! Are you 


148 THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 

sure that this Stavros will not keep us here when he 
has received the money?’’ 

“I will answer for it. The bandits are the only 
Greeks who never break their word. Do you not un- 
derstand that if it happened once that they kept prison- 
ers after having received the ransom, no one would 
ever pay one again?” 

“That is true! But what a queer German you are, 
not to have spoken sooner.” 

“You always cut me short.” 

“You ought to have spoken even then!” 

“But, Madame ” 

“Silence! Lead me to this detestable Stavros.” 

The King was breakfasting on roast turtles, seated 
with his un wounded officers under his tree of justice. 
He had made his toilet; he had washed the blood from 
his hands and changed his clothes. He was discussing, 
with his men, the most expeditious means of filling the 
vacancies made by death in his ranks. Vasile, who w'as 
from Javina, offered to find thirty men in Epinus,where 
the watchfulness of the Turkish authorities had put 
more than a thousand bandits in retreat. A Laconian 
wished that they might get for ready money the little 
band belonging to Spartiate Pavlos, who had improved 
the province of Hague, in the neighborhood of Cala- 
mato. The King, always imbued with English ideas, 
thought of forced recruiting, and of pressing into ser- 
vice the Attic shepherds. This plan seemed to him to 
possess superior advantages, as it would require no 
outlay of funds and he would obtain the herds into the 
bargain. 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


149 


Interrupted in the midst of his deliberations, Hadgi- 
Stavros gave his prisoners a cool reception. He did 
not offer even a glass of water to Mrs. Simons, and she 
had not yet breakfasted; she fully realized the omission 
of this courtesy. I took upon myself the part of 
speaker, and, in the Corfuan^s absence, the King was 
forced to accept my services as intermediary. I said 
to him that after the disaster of the evening before he 
would be glad to learn Mrs. Simons’ decision; that 
she w’ould pay, with the briefest delay possible, her 
ransom and mine; that the funds would be turned 
over the next day, either to a banker in Athens, or to 
some other place which he would designate, in ex- 
change for his receipt. 

“I am much pleased,” he said, “that these ladies have 
renounced the idea of calling the Greek army to their 
aid. Tell them that, for the second time, anything nec- 
essary for writing will be furnished them ; but that they 
must not abuse my confidence! That they must not 
draw the soldiers here! At the sight of the very first 
soldier who appears on the mountain, I will cut off 
their heads. I swear it by the Virgin of the Megas- 
pilion, who was carved by Saint Luke’s own hand.” 

“Do not doubt! I give my word for these ladies and 
myself. Where do you wish to have the sum left?” 

“At the National Bank of Greece. It is the only one 
which has not yet gone into bankruptcy.” 

“Have you a safe man to carry the letter?” 

“I have the good old man ! I will send to the con- 
vent for him. What time is it? Nine o'clock in the 


150 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


morning. The reverend gentleman has not yet drunk 
enough to become tipsy.” 

“The monk will do. When Mrs. Simons’ brother has 
turned over the sum and taken your receipt, the monk 
will bring you the news.” 

“What receipt? Why a receipt? I have never given 
any. When you are at liberty you will readily see that 
you have paid me what you owe me.” 

“I think that a man like you ought to transact busi- 
ness according to European methods. In a good ad- 
ministration ” 

“I transact business in my own way, and I am too 
old to change my methods!” 

“As you please! I ask it in the interest of Mrs. Si- 
mons. She is guardian of her minor daughter, and she 
must render account of her whole fortune.” 

“But that will arrange itself! I care for my interests 
as she does for hers. When she pays for her daughter 
is it a great misfortune? I have never regretted what I 
have disbursed for Photini. Here is the paper, the ink 
and the reeds. Be good enough to watch the compo- 
sition of the letter. It concerns your head, too !’’ 

I rose, abashed, and followed the ladies, who saw 
my confusion without knowing the cause. But a sud- 
den inspiration made me suddenly retrace my steps. 
I said to the King: “Decidedly, you were right to re- 
fuse the receipt, and I was wrong in asking for it. You 
are wiser than I ; youth is imprudent.” 

“What do you say?” 

“You are right, I tell you. It is necessary to wait 
Who knows if you will not experience a second defeat 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


151 


more terrible than the first. You are not as strong as 
at twenty years of age; you may fall a captive to the 
soldiers.’’ 

'‘I?” 

“They will try you as a common malefactor; the 
magistrates will no longer fear you. In such circum- 
stances a receipt for a hundred and fifteen thousand 
francs would be overwhelming proof. Give no weap- 
ons of justice to be turned against you. Perhaps Mrs. 
Simons or her heirs would join in a criminal suit to 
recover what had been taken from them. Never sign 
a receipt!” 

He replied in thundering tones: “I will sign it! and 
two rather than one ! I will sign all ; as many as need 
signing. I will sign them always for anyone! Ah! the 
soldiers imagine that they will manage me easily, be- 
cause once, chance, and their larger force gave them 
the advantage ! I fall, living, into their hands, I, whose 
arm is proof against fatigue, and whose head is proof 
against bullets! I seat myself on a bench, before a 
judge, like a peasant who has stolen cabbages! Young 
man, you do not yet know Hadgi-Stavros ! It would be 
easier to pluck up Parnassus and place it upon the 
summit of Taygete, than to tear me from my mount- 
ains, and place me on a court bench ! Write for me, in 
Greek, Madame Simons’ name! Good! Yours also!” 

“It is not necessary, and ” 

“Write! You know my name, and I am sure that 
you will not forget it. I wish to have yours, to hold as 
a souvenir.” 

I wrote my name as best I could in the harmonious 


152 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


language of Plato. The King’s lieutenants applauded 
his firmness without understanding that it would cost 
him a hundred and fifteen thousand francs. I hurried 
with a light heart and much pleased with myself to 
Mrs. Simons’ tent. I told her that her money had had 
a narrow escape, and she deigned to smile on learning 
that I had pretended to be deceived in order to rob 
our robbers. A half hour afterward she submitted for 
my approval the following letter: 

“My Dear Brother: — The gendarmes whom you 
sent to our rescue were treacherous, and fled ignomin- 
iously. I advise you to see that they are hung. They 
will need a gallows a hundred feet high for their Cap- 
tain Pericles. I shall complain of him, especially, in 
the dispatch which I intend to send to Lord Palmer- 
ston, and I shall consecrate to him a portion of the 
letter which I shall write to the editor of the “Times,’’ 
as soon as you have set us free. It is useless to hope 
anything from the local authorities. All the natives 
are leagued against us, and the day after our departure 
the Greeks will gather in some corner of the kingdom 
to divide what they have taken from us. Fortunately, 
they will have little. I have learned from a young Ger- 
man, whom I took at first for a spy, and who is a very 
honest man, that this Stavros, called Hadgi-Stavros, 
has funds placed with our firm. I beg you to verify 
the fact, and if it is true, let nothing prevent you from 
paying the ransom which is demanded. Turn over to 
the Bank of Greece 115,000 francs (4600 sterling) for 
a regular receipt, sealed with this Stavros’ seal. Tlie 
amount will be charged to his account. Our health is 
good, although life in the mountains may not be com- 
fortable. It is monstrous that two English women, 
citizens of the greatest kingdom in the world, should 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


153 


be compelled to eat their roast without mustard and 
without pickles and to drink pure water like any fish. 

“Hoping that you will not delay in arranging for 
our return to our accustomed habits, I am, my dear 
brother, very sincerely yours, Rebecca Simons.’^ 

I carried, to the King, the good woman’s letter. He 
took it with defiance, and examined it so sharply that 
I trembled lest he should understand it. I was, how- 
ever, very sure that he knew no English. But this 
devil of a man, inspired me with superstitious terror, 
and I believed him capable of performing miracles. 
He seemed satisfied only when he reached the figures 
4600 livres sterling. He saw, at once, that he was not to 
be troubled with the gendarmes. The letter was placed, 
with other papers, in a tin cylinder. They brought for- 
ward the good old man, who had drunk just enough 
wine to limber up his legs, and the King gave the box 
to him, with ver}^ explicit instructions. He departed, 
and my heart kept pace with him to the end of his jour- 
ney. Horace did not follow with a more tender look 
the ship which bore Virgil away. 

As soon as the King saw the affair in train to be 
completed, he became very genial. He ordered for us 
a veritable feast; he distributed double rations of wine 
to his men ; he went himself to look after the wounded, 
and with his own hands extracted the ball from Soph- 
ocles’ shoulder. Orders were given the bandits to treat 
us with the respect due our money. 

The breakfast which I ate, without spectators, with 
the ladies was one of the happiest repasts I ever re- 
member. All my evils were then ended; I should be 


154 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


free after two days of this sweet captivity. Perhaps 
even, on leaving Hadgi-Stavros, an adorable slavery! 
. . . I felt that I was a poet like Gessner. I ate as 
heartily as Mrs. Simons, and I assuredly drank with 
more appeitite. I gulped down the white wine of 
Aegina, as formerly the wine of Santorin. I drank to 
Mary-Ann’s health, to her mother’s, to my good par- 
ents’ and to that of Princess Ypsoff. Mrs. Simons 
wished to hear the history of that noble stranger, and 
by my faith, I did not keep it secret. Good examples 
are never too well known. Mary-Ann gave charming 
attention to my recital. She thought that the Princess 
had done well, and that a woman ought to take her 
happiness wherever she found it. Proverbs are the 
wisdom of nations, and sometimes their success. I was 
cast upon the wind of prosperity, and I felt myself 
borne toward, I know not what terrestrial paradise. 
Oh, Mary-Ann! the sailors who traverse the ocean 
have never had for guides two stars like your eyes! 

I was seated before her. Passing the wing of a fowl 
to her, I leaned so near her that I saw my image re- 
flected in her eyes. I found I looked well. Monsieur, 
for the first time in my life! The frame set off the pic- 
ture so well. A strange thought seized me. I felt that I 
had surprised, in this incident, a decree of destiny. It 
seemed to me that the beautiful Mary-Ann carried in 
the depths of her heart the image which I had dis- 
covered in her eyes. 

All this was not love, I know it well, I wish neither 
to accuse myself, nor to appropriate to myself a senti- 
ment which I have never felt; but it was a firm friend- 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


155 


^hip, and which would suffice, I thought, for a man 
about to enter the wedded state. No turbulent emotion 
stirred my heart, but I felt it melting slowly like a piece 
of wax in the warmth of a genial sun. 

Under the influence of this reasonable ecstasy, I re- 
lated to Mary-Ann and her mother the history of my 
life. I described to them the paternal mansion, the 
great kitchen where we all ate together; the copper 
sauce-pans hanging on the wall according to size; the 
strings of hams and sausages which hung in the in- 
side of the chimney; our modest, and often hard life: 
the future of each of my brothers ; Henri ought to suc- 
ceed papa; Frederic was learning the tailoFs trade; 
Frantz and Jean-Nicholas had had positions since they 
were eighteen; the one as corporal, the other, as quar- 
ter-master sergeant. I told them of studies, my ex- 
aminations, the little successes which I had enjoyed at 
the University, the beautiful future of professor to 
which I could lay claim, with three thousand francs 
income, at least. I do not know to what point my 
recital interested them, but I took great pleasure in 
it, and I stopped to drink from time to time. 

Mrs. Simons did not speak to me again about our 
discussion on marriage, and I was very happy. It is 
better not to say a word, than to talk in the air when 
we know ourselves so little. The day passed for me, 
like an hour; I mean as an hour of pleasure. The 
next day seemed long to Mrs. Simons; as for me, I 
would have liked to stop the sun in its course. I in- 
structed Mary-Ann in the first principles of botany. 
Ah! Monsieur, the world does not know all the tender 


156 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


and delicate sentiments one can express in a lesson in 
botany. 

At last, on Wednesday morning, the monk appeared 
on the horizon. He was a worthy man, taken alto- 
gether, this little monk! He had risen before dawn 
in order to bring us liberty in his pocket. He brought 
to the King a letter from the president of the bank, 
and to Mrs. Simons a letter from her brother. Hadgi- 
Stavros said to Mrs. Simons: “You are free, Madame, 
and you may take Mademoiselle, your daughter, 
away. I hope that you will not take away 
from our rocks too unpleasant memories. We 
have offered you all that we have; if the bed 
and the table have not been worthy of you, 
it is the fault of circumstances. I had this morning an 
angry fit, which I pray you to forget; one must par- 
don a conquered general. If I dared to offer a little 
present to Mademoiselle, I would beg her to accept 
an antique ring which could be made to fit her finger. 
It does not come from any plunder we have taken; I 
bought it of a merchant of Nauplie. Mademoiselle 
will show this jewel in England, in relating her visit 
to the King of the Mountains.” 

I faithfully translated this little speech, and I slipped 
the King’s ring on Mary-Ann’s finger, myself, 

“And I,” I asked of Hadgi-Stavros, “shall I carry 
away nothing by which to remember you?” 

“You, dear sir? But you remain! Your ransom is 
not paid!” 

I turned toward Mrs. Simons, who held out to me 
the following letter: 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


ist 


“Dear Sister: 

Verification made, I have given the 4000. liv. sterl. 
for the receipt. I have not advanced the other 600, 
because the receipt was not in your name, and it would 
be impossible to recover it. I am, while waiting your 
dear presence. Always yours, 

“Edward Sharper.” 

I had overdone my instructions to Hadgi-Stavros ; 
to be quite business-like, he believed that he ought to 
send two receipts! 

Mrs. Simons said to me in a low tone: “You seem to 
be in great trouble 1 What good will it do to make such 
faces? Show that you are a man, and leave that griev- 
ance for a whipped cur. The best part is done, since we 
are saved, my daughter and I, without its costing us 
anything. As for you, I am not uneasy about you; 
you know how to save yourself. Your first plan, which 
was not feasible for two ladies, will be an admirable 
one for you alone. Come, what day may we expect a 
visit from you?” 

I thanked her cordially. She offered such a fine 
opportunity for me to show off my personal qualities 
and to raise myself in Mary-Ann’s esteem. “Yes, Ma- 
dame, count on me! I will leave here a man of spirit, 
and much better if I run a little danger. I am glad 
that my ransom has not been paid, and I thank Mon- 
sieur, your brother, for what he has done for me. You 
will see if a German does not know how to extricate 
himself from difficulties. Yes, I will soon bring you 
my own messages!” 


158 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


“Once out of here, do not fail to present yourself at 
our hotel.” 

“Oh! Madame!” 

“And now beg this Stavros to give us an escort of 
five or six brigands.” 

“In God’s name why?” 

“To protect us from the gendarmes!’’ 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


159 


VI. 

THE ESCAPE. 

In the midst of our adieux, there came to us a power- 
ful odor of garlic which made me ill. It was the wait- 
ing-maid who had come to the ladies, to call upon 
their generosity. This creature had been more annoy- 
ing than useful, and since the first two days, the ladies 
had dispensed with her services. Mrs. Simons re- 
gretted, however, not being able to do anything for 
her, and asked me to inform the King how she had 
been robbed of her money. Hadgi-Stavros seemed 
neither surprised nor scandalized. He simply shrugged 
hi<? shoulders, and muttered: ‘That Pericles! — bad 
education — the city — the court — I ought to attend to 
that.” He added out loud: “Beg the ladies to not 
trouble themselves about anything. It is I who pro- 
rvided the servant and it is I who will pay her. Tell 
them, that if they need a little money to return to the 
city, my purse is at their disposal. I will have them es- 
corted to the foot of the mountain, although they will 
run no kind of danger. The soldiers are less to be 
feared than one thinks. They will find breakfast, 
horses and a guide in the village of Castia: everything 
is provided and everything paid. Do you think that 
they will give me the pleasure of shaking hands with 
me, in token of reconciliation?” 

Mrs. Simons was very reluctant, but her daughter 
resolutely held out her hand to the old Palikar. She 


160 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


said to him in English, with roguish pleasantry: ‘*It 
is much honor that you do us, very interesting, sir, 
because at this moment we are the Clephtes, and you 
are the victim!” 

The King replied with much confidence: “Thank 
you. Mademoiselle; you are too good!” 

Mary-Ann’s pretty hand was colored like a piece of 
rosy satin which had been in a shop-window for three 
months. Believe, however, that I did not have to 
beg to kiss it. I then touched my lips to Mrs. Simons’ 
skinny hand. “Courage! Monsieur/’ cried the old lady 
as she was going away. Mary- Ann said nothing; but 
she threw me a glance capable of rousing an army. 
Such looks are worth a proclamation ! 

When the last man of the escort had disappeared, 
Hadgi-Stavros took me to one side and said to me: 
“Eh, well ! we have then made some mistake !” 

“Alas! Yes, we were not clever.” 

“This ransom is not paid. Will it be? I believe so. 
These English women seem to be friendly to you.” 

“Be not uneasy: within three days I shall be far 
from Parnassus.” 

“All right, so much the better. I have great need of 
money, as you know. Our bad luck on Monday will 
tax our income heavily. We must make up our per- 
sonal and material losses.” 

“You can complain with good grace. You have ob- 
tained a hundred thousand francs at one stroke!” 

“No, ninety! the monk has already taken his tithe. 
Of that sum, which seems enormous to you, there will 
be only twenty thousand for me. Our expenses are 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


161 


considerable; there are heavy charges. What would 
be done if the company of stock-holders should de- 
cide to build a Hotel des Invalides, as has been talked 
of? There are always pensions to be paid to the wid- 
ows and orphans of the band. Fever and bullets yearly 
relieve us of thirty men, and you can see where that 
places us. Our expenses would scarcely be met; I 
should have to pay money out of my own pocket, my 
dear sir!’^ 

'‘Have you never happened to lose more than once?-’ 

“Once, only. I had received fifty thousand francs 
on account, of the society. One of my secretaries, 
whom I afterward hung, fled to Thessaly with the sum. 
I had to make up the deficit: I was responsible. My 
share amounted to seven thousand francs; I lost, then, 
forty-three thousand. But the knave who stole from 
me paid dearly. I punished him according to the 
Persian mode. Before hanging him, his teeth were 
pulled, one after the other, and they were driven, with 
a mallet, into his cranium — for a good example, you 
understand. I am not wicked, but I suffer no one to 
put me in the wrong.” 

It rejoiced my heart that the old Palikar, who was 
not wicked, should lose the eighty thousand francs of 
Mrs. Simons’ ransom, and that he would receive the 
news when my cranium and my teeth were not in his 
camp. He put his arm through mine, and said 
familiarly: 

“How are you going to kill the time till your de- 
parture? These ladies are gone and the house will 
seem large. Do you wish to look at the Athenian 
11 


162 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


papers? The monk brought some to me. I rarely read 
them. I know exactly the price the articles are worth, 
since I pay for them. Here you will find the Gazette 
officielle, TEsperance, Pallicare, Caricature. Each one 
ought to speak of us. Poor readers! I leave you. If 
you find anything curious, tell me about it.” 

L’Esperance, printed in French, and intended to fool 
Europe, devoted a long article to denying the latest 
news of brigandage. It cleverly joked the simple trav- 
elers who saw a thief in every ragged peasant, an 
armed band in every cloud of dust, and who asked 
pardon of the first thorn-bush on which their clothes 
were caught. This truth-telling sheet vaunted the se- 
curity of the roads, celebrated the disinterestedness of 
the natives, exalted the quiet and seclusion which one 
was sure of finding on all the mountains in the king- 
dom. 

The Pallicare, printed under the supervision of some 
of Hadgi-Stavros^ friends, contained an eloquent 
biography of its hero. It recounted that this Thesseus 
of modern times, the only man in our century who 
had never been vanquished, had made a sortie in the 
direction of the Scironian Rock. Betrayed by the 
weakness of his companions, he had withdrawn with 
small loss. But seized with profound distaste for a de- 
generate profession, he had renounced, henceforth, the 
practice of brigandage, and had left Greece; he 
had exiled himself in Europe, where his fortune, glor- 
iously acquired, would enable him to live like a prince. 
“And now,” added the Pallicare, “go, come, travel 
across the plain and in the mountain! Bankers and 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


163 


Merchants, Greeks, strangers, travelers, you have noth- 
ing to fear; the King of the Mountains wished, like 
Charles V., to abdicate at the height of his glory and 
power.’’ 

The Gazette officielle read as follows: 

“Sunday, 3d instant, at 5 o’clock in the evening, the 
military chest containing 20,000 francs, which a large 
company was guarding on its way to Argos, was at- 
tacked by the band of Hadgi-Stavros, known as the 
King of the Mountains ! The brigands, to the number 
of three or four hundred, fell upon the soldiers with 
incredible ferocity. But the first two companies of the 
second battalion of the 4th Line, under the command 
of the brave Nicolaidis, opposed them with a heroic 
resistance. The savage attacking party were repulsed 
at the point of the bayonet and left the field covered 
with the dead. Report has it that Hadgi-Stavros was 
seriously wounded. Our loss was insignificant. 

“The same day, and the same hour. Her Majesty’s 
troops were victors in another skirmish, about ten 
leagues distant. It was at the summit of Parnassus, 
four furlongs from Castia, that the 2d Company of the 
1st Battalion of gendarmes defeated Hadgi-Stavros’ 
band. There, according to the report of the brave 
Captain Pericles, the King of the Mountains was 
wounded. Unfortunately, this success was dearly 
bought. The brigands, protected by the rocks and 
shrubs, had killed or seriously wounded ten of the sol- 
diers. A young officer, M. Spiro, graduate of the 
Erelpides School, died a heroic death on the field of 
battle. In the presence of such great misfortunes, it 


164 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


is no mean consolation that there, as everywhere, the 
law reigns.” 

The journal La Caricature contained a badly printed 
lithograph, in which I recognized, however. Captain 
Pericles and the King of the Mountains. The godson 
and godfather were holding each other in close em- 
brace. Below this cartoon, the artist had written the 
following sentence: 

“This Is How They Fought!” 

“It seems,” I said to myself, “that I am not alone in 
their confidence, and that Pericles’ secret is an open 
secret” 

I folded up the papers, and while waiting the King’s 
return, I meditated upon the position in which Mrs. 
Simons had left me. Surely, it was fine to owe my 
freedom to no one but myself, and much braver to 
leave a prison by a feat of courage, than by a school- 
boy’s trick. I could, in a day or two, become a hero of 
romance, and the object of admiration of all the young 
girls in Europe. No doubt Mary-Ann would adore 
me when she saw me safe and sound after so perilous 
an escape. I might make a misstep in that slippery 
path. What if I broke a leg or arm! Would Alary- 
Ann look with favor on a lame and crippled man? I 
must, moreover, expect to be guarded night and day. 
My plan, ingenious as it was, could be executed only 
after the death of my guard. To kill a man is no small 
affair, even for a doctor. It is nothing in words, es- 
pecially when one speaks to the woman whom one 
loves. But, since Mary-Ann’s departure, I was no 
longer deranged. It seemed less easy to procure a 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


165 


weapon and to use it. A poniard thrust is a surgical 
operation which ought to make an honest man’s flesh 
creep. What do you say, Monsieur? I think that my 
future mother-in-law had treated her hoped-for son-in- 
law very contemptuously. It would not have cost her 
much to have sent me 15,000 francs ransom, taking 
them, later, out of Mary-Ann’s dowry. Fifteen thou- 
sand francs would have been of little value to me the 
day of my marriage. It seemed of much account in the 
condition in which I found myself, on the eve of mur- 
dering a man, and descending some hundreds of 
meters by a ladder without any rungs. I cursed Mrs. 
Simons as heartily as the generality of sons-in-law 
curse their mothers-in-law in all civilized lands. As 
I had maledictions to spare, I directed some of them 
against my friend John Harris, who had abandoned me 
to my lot. I said to myself, that if we could have ex- 
changed places, that I would never have left him eight 
days without news. 

I excused Lobster, who was very young; and Gia- 
como, who was not very intelligent, and also M. Meri- 
nay, whose downright selfishness I fully understood. 
One easily pardons treason in such egotists, because 
one never counts on them. But Harris, who had 
risked his life to save an old negress in Boston! Was I 
not of as much account as a negress? I believed, in 
truth, without any aristocratic prejudices, that I was 
worth two or three times as much. 

Hadgi-Stavros came to change the course of my 
thoughts by offering a means of escape more simple 
and less dangerous. It was only necessary to have 


166 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


legs, and, thank God! I was not lacking in that par- 
-licular. The King surprised me just as I was yawning 
tearfully. 

'‘Do you feel dull?^’ he asked. “It is the reading. I 
never can open a book without fear of dislocating my 
jaws. I am pleased to see that doctors cannot endure 
it any better than I. But why not employ the time you 
remain to better advantage? You came here to gather 
the mountain plants; your box has received nothing 
these eight days. Would you like to search for some, 
under guard of two men? I am too good a fellow for 
you to refuse this little favor. Each must pursue his 
course in this lower world. You collect plants; I, 
money. You can say to those who sent you here: 
‘Here are plants gathered in Hadgi-Stavros’ Kingdom!’ 
If you find one which is beautiful and strange, and of 
which one has never heard in your country, you must 
give it my name, and call it the Queen of the 
Mountains!” 

“But truly,” I thought, “if I was a league from here, 
with two brigands, would it not be possible to out- 
strip them? There was no doubt but that danger 
would give me double strength. He who runs best is 
he who has the most to gain! Why is the hare the 
swiftest, of all animals? Because he is the most ter- 
rified !” 

I accepted the King’s offer, and, on the spot, he 
placed two guards over me. He gave them no minute 
instructions. He simply said: 

“Here is milord, worth 15,000 francs; if you lose 
him, you will have to bring him back or pay the sum,” 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


167 


My attendants did not look like invalids; they had 
neither wounds, bruises, nor injury of any sort; their 
muscles were like steel, and it was not to be expected 
that they would be retarded by any constraint of their 
foot-gear, because they wore large moccasins, which 
left their heels bare. Passing them in review, I noticed, 
not without regret, two pistols as long as children’s 
guns. I, however, did not lose courage. By reason of 
keeping bad company, the whizzing of bullets had be- 
come familiar to me. I slung my box over my shoulder 
and started. 

“Much pleasure to youT’ cried the King. 

“Adieu! Sire!” 

“Not so, if you please; au revoir!” 

I drew my companions in the direction of Athens; 
it was so much gained from the enemy. They made 
no resistance, and allowed me to go where I wished. 
These bandits, much better brought up than Pericles’ 
four guards, allowed me plenty of room. I did not feel, 
at each step, the point of their elbows in my ribs. They 
picked on the path green stuff for the evening meal. 
As for me, I appeared very eager in my work; I pulled 
up, on the right hand and on the left, tufts of grass of 
no account; I pretended to choose a sprig from the 
mass, and I placed it very carefully in the bottom of my 
box, taking care not to overload myself ; it was enough 
of a burden that I carried. I had once known, at a 
horse race, of a jockey who was beaten because he 
carried a burden weighing five kilogrammes. My 
gaze seemed fixed upon the ground, but you can well 
believe that the interest was feigned. Under such cir- 


168 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


cumstances one is not a botanist, one is a prisoner. 
Pellison would never have amused himself with spiders 
if he had had a file with which to saw his bars. I may 
have, perhaps, seen that day unknown plants which 
would have made a naturalist’s fortune ; but I troubled 
myself no more about them than as if they had been 
common wall-flowers. I am sure that I passed near 
a fine specimen of the boryana variabilis! It would 
have weighed a half-pound with its roots. I did not 
even honor it with a look. I saw only two things: 
Athens in the distance, and the two brigands on either 
side. I secretly watched the rascals’ eyes, in the hope 
that something would distract their attention; but, 
whether they were right at hand or ten feet away, 
whether they were occupied in picking their salads or 
following the flight of the vultures, they kept an inces- 
sant watch on my movements. 

An idea came to me to give them serious occupation. 
We were in a narrow path, which evidently led towards 
Athens. I saw at my left a beautiful bunch of broOm 
which grew on the top of a rock. I pretended to be 
eager to secure it as a treasure. I made five or six at- 
tempts to scale the precipitous bowlder on which it 
blossomed. I seemed so determined to reach it that 
one of my guards offered himself as a short ladder. 
This was not exactly what I had counted on. I felt 
obliged to accept his services, but, in climbing upon his 
shoulders, I hurt him so cruelly with my hob-nailed 
shoes, that he groaned with agony and let me drop to 
the ground. His comrade, who was interested in the 
process of the enterprise, said to him: “Wait! I will 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


169 


mount instead of milord, I have no nails in my shoes.” 
No sooner said than done; he sprang up, seized it by 
the stalk, shook it, pulled it, tore it up by the root and 
cried out. I was already running away, without look- 
ing behind. Their stupefaction gave me a good ten 
seconds’ advantage. But they lost no time in accusing 
each other, for I soon heard them following me. I re- 
doubled my efforts; the path was a good one, even, 
smooth, made for me. We descended a steep declivity. 
I ran desperately, my arms pressed to my sides, with- 
out noticing the stones which rolled under my heels, 
or looking to see where I put my feet. I fairly flew 
over the path; rocks and bushes on either side seemed 
to be running in the opposite direction; I was light- 
footed, I was supple, my body weighed little; I had 
wings. But the four foot-falls wearied my ears. Sud- 
denly, they ceased; I heard nothing more. Had they 
become weary of following me? A little cloud of dust 
rose ten steps ahead of me. A little further on, a white 
spot suddenly appeared on a gray rock. I heard two 
detonations at the same instant. The brigands had 
discharged their pistols ! I was not hit, and I still sped 
on. The pursuit began again; I heard the breathless 
voices calling to me: “Stop! Stop!” I did not stop. 
I lost the path, but I still ran on, not knowing where I 
was going. A ditch as wide as a river presented itself ; 
but I was flying too fast to measure distances. I 
jumped, I was saved! — my suspenders brolve! — I was 
lost! 

You laugh! I would like to see you run without sus- 
penders, holding in both h^nds tliQ band of your trou- 


170 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


sers! Five minutes afterward, I was again a captive. 
The men hand-cuffed me, fettered my legs, and drove 
me with switches to Hadgi-Stavros^ camp. 

The King treated me as a bankrupt who had carried 
away 15,000 francs. ^^Monsieur,” he said to me, “I had 
a better opinion of you. I thought I knew honest 
men! your face deceived me. I would never have be- 
lieved that you were capable of doing wrong, above 
all, after the way in which I have treated you. Do not 
be astonished if I, henceforth, use severe measures; 
you have forced me to do so. You will remain in your 
chamber until further orders. One of my officers will 
remain with you under your tent. This is only a pre- 
caution. In case of a repetition of the offense, it is 
punishment which will be given you. Vasile, it is to 
thee I commit Monsieur.” 

Vasile saluted me with his usual courtesy. 

“Ah! wretch!” I thought, “it is thou who throwest 
infants into the fire! It is thou who wouldst have 
embraced Mary-Ann; it is thou who wouldst have 
stabbed me on Ascension Day. Oh, well ! I prefer to 
settle with thee rather than with another!” 

I will not relate to you the details of the three days 
I passed in my tent with Vasile. The scamp gave me 
a dose of disgust which I do not wish to share with 
anyone. He did not wish me any ill; he even had a 
certain sympathy for me. I believe that if I had been 
his own prisoner, that he would have released me 
without ransom. My face had pleased him at first 
sight. I recalled to him a younger brother who had 
been condemned to death and hanged. But these 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 171 

friendly overtures wearied me a hundred times more 
than bad treatment. He did not wait until sunrise to 
say ‘^good-morning” to me; at night-fall, he never 
missed a long list of successes which he wished me. 
He aroused me, in my deepest sleep, to ascertain if I 
was well covered. At table, he gave me good service; 
at dessert he begged of me to listen to some stories 
which he wished to relate. And always that hand was 
before me ready to shake mine. I fiercely opposed his 
advances. It seemed to me unnecessary to include a 
roaster of infants in my list of friends, and I had 
no desire to press the hand of a man whom I had con- 
demned to death. My conscience permitted me to kill 
him; was it not a case of legitimate defense? but I 
did have scruples about killing him treacherously, 
and I ought, at least, to put him on his guard by hostile 
and menacing attitude. While repulsing his advances, 
his kindness, and repelling his polite attentions, I care- 
fully watched for a chance to escape ; but his friendship, 
more vigilant than hate, did not lose sight of me for 
an instant. When I hung over the cascade in order 
to impress upon my mind the unequal places in the 
bank, Vasile would draw me from my contemplation 
with maternal solicitude: “Take care!” he would say 
to me, pulling me back by the feet! “if thou shouldst 
fall by some unhappy chance, I should reproach myself 
all my life.” When, at night, I stealthily tried to rise, 
he jumped from his bed, asking if I needed anything. 
Never was there a more watchful rascal. He turned 
around me like a squirrel in a cage. 

What, above everything, made me despair, was the 


172 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


confidence he had in me. I expressed, one day, a de- 
sire to examine his arms. He placed his dagger in my 
hand. It was Russian blade, of inlaid steel, from the 
famous sword factory of Toula. I drew it from its 
sheath, I tried the point with my finger, I turned it to- 
ward his breast, choosing the place between the 
fourth and fifth ribs. “Do not press on it, thou might- 
est kill me!” Truly, by pressing on it a little, I could 
have given him his just desserts, but something stayed 
my hand. It is to be regretted that honest men recoil 
from killing assassins, when the latter feel no compunc- 
tions about killing honest people. I put the weapon 
back into its case. Vasile held out his pistol to me, but 
I refused it, and I told him that my curiosity was satis- 
fied. He cocked it, he made me look at the priming, 
he placed it on his head, and said to me: “See! thou art 
no longer guarded!” 

No longer guarded! eh! parbleu! that was exactly 
what I wished. But the occasion was too good a one, 
and the traitor paralyzed me. If I had killed him at 
such a moment, I would not have felt equal to enduring 
his last look. Much better to give the blow in the 
night. Unfortunately, instead of hiding his arms, he 
placed them ostensibly between his bed and mine. 

At last, I conceived a plan for escaping, without 
awakening him or killing him. The idea flashed across 
my mind, Sunday, the nth day of May, at 6 o’clock. 
I had noticed, on Ascension Day, that Vasile loved to 
drink, and that it took but little wine to intoxicate him. 
I invited him to dine with me. This exhibition of 
friendship mounted to his brain; the wine of Aegina 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


173 


did the rest ! Hadgi'Stavros, who had not honored me 
with a visit since I had lost his esteem, still acted as a 
generous host. My table was better served than his 
own. I could have drunk a goat-skin of wine or a cask 
of rhaki. Vasile, admitted to his share of these lux- 
uries, began the repast with touching humility. He 
kept three feet from the table, like a peasant in- 
vited to his master’s house. Little by little, the wine 
lessened the distance. At eight o’clock, my guardian 
explained his character to me. At nine, stutteringly 
related to me the adventures of his youth, and a series 
of exploits which would have made a Criminal Exam- 
ining Magistrate’s hair stand on end. At ten, he be- 
came philanthropic; this heart of tempered steel was 
dissolving in the rhaki, like Cleopatra’s pearl in the 
vinegar. He swore to me that he became a bandit be- 
cause of his love for humanity; that he would make his 
fortune in ten years, would found a hospital with his 
savings, and then retire to a monastery on Mount 
Athos. He promised that he would not forget me in 
his prayers. I took advantage of his good intentions in 
order to make him drink an enormous cup of rhaki. I 
might have offered him boiling pitch ; he was too much 
my friend to refuse me. Soon, he lost his voice; his 
head swung from the right to the left, from the left to 
the right, with the regularity of a pendulum; he held 
out his hand to me; it alighted on the remains of the 
roast, this he shook cordially, fell over on his back, and 
slept the sleep of the Egyptian Sphinx, which the 
French cannons have never awakened. 

I had not an instant to lose; the minutes were 


174 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


golden. I took his pistol, which I threw to the bottom 
of the ravine. I seized his dagger, and was going to 
throw that down also, when the thought came to me 
that it would be useful in cutting up the turf. My 
watch showed eleven o’clock. I extinguished the two 
torches of resinous wood which had lighted our table; 
the light might attract the King’s attention. It was a 
beautiful night. No moon at all, but the sky was 
studded with stars; it was just the kind of night for 
my purpose. The turf, cut in long strips, came up like 
cloth. I had a sufficient quantity at the end of an hour. 
As I carried them to the spring, I stumbled against 
Vasile. He raised himself, heavily, and through habit, 
asked me if I needed anything. I let fall my burden 
and seated myself near the drunken man, and begged 
him to drink one more cup to my health. “Yes!” he 
mumbled, ‘T am thirsty.” I filled for him the copper 
cup for the last time. He drank half of it; spilled the 
remainder over his face and neck, attempted to get up, 
fell over on his face, with his arms extended, and moved 
no more. I ran to my dike, and novice as I was, the 
brook was solidly dammed up in forty-five minutes; 
it was a quarter of one o’clock. To the noise of the 
cascade succeeded a profound silence. Fear seized 
me. I reflected that the King probably slept lightly, like 
most old people, and that the unusual silence would 
probably awake him. In the tumult of thoughts which 
filled my mind, I remembered a scene in the Barbier de 
Seville, where Bartholo was awakened when he ceased 
to hear a piano. I glided under the trees to the stair- 
case, and looked toward the King’s cabinet. He was 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


175 


sleeping peacefully beside his pipe-bearer. I crept 
stealthily along within twenty feet of his tree, I listened; 
all were asleep. I went back to my dam, passing 
through a puddle of icy water, which was already up 
to my ankles, flung myself down and looked over the 
abyss. The side of the mountain had gradually become 
polished. There were, here and there, cavities in which 
water had formed in pools. I had taken accurate note ; 
these places were where I could put my feet. I re- 
turned to my tent, took my box which was suspended 
over my bed, and slung it over my shoulders. In 
passing the place where we had dined, I picked up a 
part of a loaf, and a piece of meat which the water had 
not yet wet. I put these provisions in my box for my 
breakfast next morning. The dam still held well, the 
wind ought to have dried my path; it was nearly two 
o’clock. I wished, in case of an encounter with any 
one, to take Vasile’s dagger, but it was under the 
water and I could lose no time searching for it. I took 
of¥ my shoes, I tied them together, and hung them on 
the strap of my box. At last, after thinking of every- 
thing, throwing a last look at my earthworks, giving a 
thought to my family at home, and sending a kiss in 
the direction of Athens and Mary-Ann, I threw one leg 
over the edge, I seized with both hands a tree which 
hung over the abyss, and I started out, trusting to God 
to help me. 

It was rough work, harder than I had supposed 
when looking down. The rock, not entirely dry, gave 
me a feeling of clammy cold, like the contact of a 
serpent. I had not calculated distances accurately, and 


176 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


the points of support were farther apart than I had 
hoped. Twice I took a wrong course in moving to the 
left. I had to return, a work of incredible difficulty. 
Hope abandoned me often, but not my will. My foot 
slipped; I mistook a shadow for a projection, and I fell 
fifteen or twenty feet, clinging with my hands and 
body to the side of the mountain, without finding a 
place to stop myself. A root of a fig-tree caught me by 
the cuff of my coat-sleeve, you can see the marks here. 
A little further on, a bird, hidden in a little hole, on the 
mountain side, flew out between my legs so suddenly, 
and frightened me so, that I almost fell head first. I 
advanced with feet and hands, especially with my 
hands. My arms seemed broken, and I heard the 
tendons creak like the cords of a harp. My nails were 
so cruelly torn that they ceased to pain me. Perhaps, 
if I had been able to measure the distance still before 
me, I would have felt renewed strength; but when I 
turned my head, I became so dizzy that I abandoned 
the attempt. To sustain my courage, I talked to my- 
self; I spoke out loud between my clenched teeth. I 
said: “One more step for my father! yet another for 
Mary-Ann! still one more for the confusion of the 
brigands and the rage of Hadgi-Stavros 1’^ 

My feet at last rested on a broad ledge. It seemed to 
me that the soil had t:hanged color. I bent my knees, 
I seated myself, I turned my head. I was only ten feet 
from the brook. I had reached the red rocks. The 
smooth stone, full of hollows, in which the water still 
stood, allowed me to take breath and rest a little. I 
drew out my watch ; it was only half past two. I would 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 177 

have believed that my journey had taken three nights. 
1 examined my arms and legs, to ascertain if I still 
possessed them all ; in this kind of an expedition one 
never knows what will happen. I had had good luck; 
I had suffered some contusions and the skin was 
rubbed off in two or three places. The worst sufferer 
was my paletot. I looked up, not to thank Heaven, but 
to assure myself that nothing had moved in my camp- 
ing place. I heard only the drops of water filtering 
through my dam. All was well; I was reassured; I 
knew where to find Athens; adieu to the King of the 
Mountains! 

I was about to leap to the bottom of the ravine, when 
a whitish form jumped up before me, and I heard the 
most furious barking which had ever awakened morn- 
ing echoes. Alas! Monsieur, the enemies of man 
roamed at all hours around the camp, and one of them 
had scented me. I cannot describe the fury and hate 
which possessed me at meeting him; one does not 
detest to this degree an irrational being. I would 
have much preferred to find myself face to face with a 
wolf, with a tiger, or a white bear, noble beasts, who 
would have eaten me without saying anything, but 
who would not have denounced me. Ferocious 
beasts hunt for themselves; but to think of this hor- 
rible dog who was about to devour me, with a great 
uproar, in order to serve Hadgi-Stavros ! I over- 
whelmed him with insults; I hurled the most odious 
names at him; do the best I could yet he spoke louder 
than I. I changed my tune, I tried the effect of kind 
words, I spoke to him sweetly in Greek, in the tongue 
12 


178 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


of his fathers; he gave but one response to all my ad- 
vances, and the response awoke the mountain echoes. 
A thought struck me! I was silent; he ceased barking. 
I stretched myself out among the pools of water; he 
crouched at the foot of the rock with low growls. I 
pretended to sleep; he slept. I glided, inch by inch, 
toward the brook ; he was up with a bound, and I had 
only time to regain my platform. My hat remained 
in the hands of the enemy, or rather, in the teeth of the 
enemy. An instant afterward, it was no more than a 
pulp, a chewed up mass, a rag of a hat! Poor hat! I 
pitied it! I put myself in its place. If I could have 
escaped, less a few mouthfuls, I would not have con- 
sidered the matter a great while, I would have made 
allowances for the dog’s share. But these monsters are 
not satisfied with killing people, they eat them! 

I was convinced that he was hungry; that if I could 
find enough to surfeit him, he might possibly bite me, 
but he would not devour me. I had some provisions, I 
would sacrifice them ; my only regret was that I did not 
have a hundred times more. I threw a piece of bread 
to him; he swallowed it in one mouthful; imagine a 
pebble which falls into a well. As I looked piteously 
at the small portion which still remained, I saw, in the 
bottom of the box, a white package, which gave me 
a new idea. It was a small amount of arsenic, used in 
my zoological preparations. I used it in stuffing birds, 
but no law prevented me from putting a few grains into 
the body of a dog. My speaker, with sharpened appe- 
tite, demanded more: “Wait,” I -said to him, “I am 
going to give thee a morsel of my own making!” The 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


179 


package contained about 35 grammes of a pretty pow- 
der, white and shining. I turned five or six into a 
small pool of water, and I put the remainder in my 
pocket. I carefully diluted a portion for the animal; 
I waited until the acid was well dissolved; I dipped 
into the solution a piece of bread, which soaked it all 
up, like a sponge. The dog sprang upon it with a 
good appetite and swallowed it at once. 

Why was not I provided with a little strychnine, or 
some other good poison more fearful than arsenic? 
It was after three o^clock, and the results of my experi- 
ment were not instantaneous. About half after three, 
the dog began to howl with all his strength. I had not 
gained much; barking and howling, cries of fury, or of 
agony, were all to the same purpose — that is — the 
awakening of Hadgi-Stavros. Soon the animal fell 
into frightful convulsions; he foamed at the mouth; 
he was seized with nausea, he made violent effort to 
throw off the poison. It was a sweet sight to. me, and I 
enjoyed it; the death of the enemy was my only way 
of escape, and death was vanquishing him. I hoped 
that, conquered by the poison, he would permit me to 
leave; but he raged against me, he opened his foam- 
flecked and bloody jaws, as if to reproach me with my 
presents, and to tell me that he would not die without 
vengeance. I threw my handkerchief to him; he 
tore it as savagely as my hat. The sky began to lighten. 
I became convinced that I had committed a useless 
murder. An hour later, the brigands would be upon 
me. I looked up to that horrid place which I had left 
without expecting to return to it, and to which the 


180 


THE KING OT THE MOUNTAINS. 


dog’s endurance was forcing me. A volume of water 
suddenly poured over the rock and threw me, face 
down. The icy water, filled with huge pieces of turf, 
stones, fragments of rock rolled over me. Tlie dam 
had broken, and the whole body of water poured over 
my head. A trembling seized me! I became chilled, 
my blood congealed! I looked toward the dog; he 
was still at the foot of my rock, struggling with death, 
with the current, with anything, jaws open and eyes 
turned towards me. This must end. I took off my box, 
clutched it by the straps, and pounded that hideous 
head with such fury that the enemy left me the field of 
battle. Tlie torrent seized him, rolled him over two or 
three times, and carried him, I know not where. 

I jumped into the water; it was up to my waist; I 
clung to the rocks; I went with the current; I was 
over the bank; I shook myself, I cried: “Hurrah for 
Mary- Ann !” 

Four brigands rose out of the earth! they caught 
me by the collar, saying: “Here thou art, assassin! 
Come! we will take thee back! the King will be 
happy! Vasile will be avenged!” 

It appeared, that without knowing it, I had drowned 
my friend, Vasile. 

At that time. Monsieur, I had never killed a man; 
Vasile was my first. I have fought others since, to 
defend myself and to save my life; but Vasile is the 
only one who has caused me any remorse, although his 
end was, probably, the result of a very innocent im- 
prudence. You know that it is only the first step! No 
murderer, discovered by the police, surrounded with 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


181 


soldiers and led to the scene of his crime, hung his 
head more humbly than 1. I dared not raise my eyes 
to the good people who had arrested me; I did not 
feel equal to encountering the eyes of these reprobates; 
I trembled; I presented a guilty appearance; I knew 
that I must appear before my judge, and be placed be- 
fore my victim. How could I confront the King’s 
frov/n, after what I had done? How could I see, with- 
out dying of shame, the inanimate body of the unfor- 
tunate Vasile? My knees shook; I would have fallen 
but for the kicks I received from those following me. 

I crossed the deserted camp, the King’s cabinet, 
occupied by some of the wounded, and I descended, or, 
rather, I fell to the bottom of the staircase to my 
chamber. The waters had receded, leaving traces of 
mud everywhere. A small pool of water still remained 
where I had raised the dam. The bandits, the King, 
and the monk, stood in a circle, about a dark and 
muddy object, the sight of which made my hair stand 
on end: it was Vasile! Heaven preserve you, Mon- 
sieur, from the sight of a corpse of your own making! 
The water and the mud, rushing over him, had de- 
posited on him a hideous layer. Have you ever seen 
a great fly which had been caught, three or four days 
before, in a large spider-web? The artisan of the web, 
not being able to rid himself of his visitor, had en- 
veloped him in a tangle of gray threads, and changed 
him to an unformed and unrecognizable mass. Such 
was Vasile a few hours after he had dined with me. I 
found him ten feet from the path where I had bidden 
him farewell. I do not know whether the brigands 


182 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


had laid him there, or whether he had thrown himself 
there, in his convulsions of agony; I am inclined to 
believe, however, that death had come to him gently. 
Full of wine as I had left him, he must have succumbed, 
without a struggle, to some cerebral congestion. 

A menacing murmur, which was a bad augury, 
greeted my arrival. Hadgi-Stavros, with pale and 
contracted brow, walked up to me, seized me by the left 
wrist, and dragged me so violently that he dislocated 
my arm. He threw me into the middle of the circle 
with such force, that I almost fell on my victim; I in- 
stantly recoiled. 

“Look!” he cried in thundering tones, “look at what 
you have done! rejoice in your work; gaze upon your 
crime! Wretch! but where would you have stopped? 
Who would have said, the day I received you here, 
that I had opened my door to an assassin?” 

I stammered some excuses; I tried to show the 
judge that I was guilty only of imprudence. I warmly 
accused myself of having intoxicated my guardian in 
order to escape his watchfulness, and to flee without 
hindrance from my prison; but I defended myself 
from the crime of assassinating him. Was it my fault if 
the rise of waters drowned him an hour after my de- 
parture? The proof that I had wished him no evil, was 
that I had not stabbed him when he was dead drunk, 
and that I had his weapons at hand. They could wash 
the body and see that he was not wounded. 

“At least,” the King replied, “confess that your act 
was very selfish and very culpable! When your life 
was not threatened, when you were held here for only a 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


183 


small sum, you fled through avarice ; you thought only 
of saving a few ecus, and you did not trouble yourself 
about this poor unfortunate whom-you left to die! You 
never thought of me! that you were going to deprive 
me of a valuable offlcer! And what moment did you 
choose to betray us? The day on which all kinds of 
troubles assailed us; when I had sustained a defeat; 
when I had lost my best soldiers ; when Sophocles was 
wounded; when the Corfuan was dying; when the 
little Spiro, upon whom I relied, was killed; when all 
my men were weary and discouraged ; it was then you 
had the heart to relieve me of Vasile! Have you, then, 
no humane sentiments? Would it not have been a 
hundred times better to have paid your ransom hon- 
estly, as became a good prisoner, than to have it said 
you sacrificed a life for 15,000 francs?” 

“Eh! Zounds! You have killed people, and for 
less !” 

He replied with dignity: “That is my business; it 
is not yours. I am a brigand, and you are a doctor. I 
am Greek, and you are German.” 

To that, I had nothing to reply. I felt convinced 
from the trembling of every fiber of my heart, that I 
had neither been born nor brought up to the profession 
of killing men. The King, angry at my silence, raised 
his voice, and said: 

“Do you know, miserable young man, who was the 
excellent man of whose death you are guilty? He was 
a descendant of those heroic brigands of Souli who 
fought fierce battles for their religion, and against Ali 
de Tebelen, Pasha of Janina. For four generations. 


K4 TliE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS, 

all of his ancestors have either been hung or decapi- 
tated; not one has died in his bed. Only six years 
ago, his own brother perished in Epirus, having been 
condemned to death; he had killed a Mohammedan. 
Devotion and courage are hereditary in that family. 
Never did Vasile forget his religious duties. He gave 
to the churches; he gave to the poor. At Easter, he 
always lighted a larger taper than any one else. He 
would have killed himself rather than violate the law 
of abstinence, or eat meat on a fast-day. He econo- 
mized in order to retire to a convent on Mount Athos. 
Did you know it?’^ 

“I humbly confessed that I did know it. 

“Do you know that he was the most steadfast of all 
my band? I do not wish to detract from the personal 
merit of those who are listening to me, but Vasile 
possessed a blind devotion, a fearless obedience, a 
true zeal under all circumstances. No labor was too 
great for his courage; no occupation too repugnant 
for his fidelity. He would have killed every one in 
the kingdom if I had ordered him to do so. He would 
have torn out his best friend’s eye, if I had given him 
a sign with my little finger. And you have killed him! 
Poor Vasile! when I shall have a village to burn, a 
miser to torture, a woman to cut in pieces, an infant 
to burn alive, who will replace thee?” 

All the brigands, electrified by this funeral oration, 
cried in one voice. “We! We!” Some held out their 
arms to the King, others unsheathed their daggers; 
the most zealous leveled their pistols at me. Hadgi- 
Stavros checked their enthusiasm: he stepped in front 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


185 


of me to shield me, and went on with his discourse in 
these words: 

“Be consoled, Vasile, thou shalt not rest without 
vengeance. If I listened only to my grief, I would 
offer to thy manes thy murderer’s head; but it is worth 
15,000 francs, and that thought restrains me. Thou, 
thyself, if thou couldst speak, as formerly in our coun- 
cils, thou wouldst beg me to spare him; thou wouldst 
refuse so costly a vengeance. It is not proper, in the 
circumstances in which thy death has left us, to do 
foolish things, and to throw money away.” 

He stopped a moment; I drew a deep breath. 

“But,” the King went on, “I will know how to recon- 
cile interest with justice. I will chastise the guilty 
one without risking the capital. His punishment shall 
be the most beautiful ornament of funeral obsequies; 
and, from above, from the homes of the Palikars, to 
which thy spirit has gone, thou shalt contemplate, with 
joy, an expiatory punishment, which shall not cost us 
a sou!” 

This peroration aroused the audience. I was the 
only one not charmed. I puzzled my brain trying to 
imagine what the King had in store for me, and I felt 
so little assured, that my teeth chattered. Surely, I 
ought to esteem myself happy to save my life, and 
the preservation of my head seemed no mean advan- 
tage; but I knew the inventive imagination of these 
Greeks of the highway. Hadgi-Stavros, without put- 
ting me to death, could inflict such chastisement as 
would mrl-e me hate life. The old rascal refused to 
inform me as to what punishment he had in store for 


186 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


me. He pitied my agony so little, that he compelled 
me to assist in the funeral ceremonies of his lieuten- 
ant. 

The body was stripped of its garments, carried to the 
brook, and bathed. Vasile’s features were changed but 
little; his mouth, half-open, still bore the silly smile of 
the drunkard; his open eyes preserved a stupid look. 
His limbs had not lost their suppleness; the rigor 
mortis does not come, for a long time, to those who 
die by accident. 

The King’s coffee-bearer and pipe-bearer proceeded 
to dress the dead. The King bore the expenses as 
heir. Vasile had no relatives, and all his property 
reverted to the King. They clothed the body in a fine 
shirt, a shirt of beautiful percale, and a vest em- 
broidered with silver. They covered his wet locks with 
a bonnet which was nearly new. They put leggins of 
red silk on the legs which would never run again. 
Slippers of Russia leather were slipped on his feet. In 
all his life, poor Vasile had never been so clean nor so 
gorgeous. They touched his lips with carmine; they 
whitened and rouged his face as if he was a young 
actor about to step on the stage. During the whole 
operation, the bandit orchestra executed a lugubrious 
air, which you must have heard in the streets of Athens. 
I congratulate myself that I did not die in Greece, be- 
cause the music is abominable, and I never could have 
consoled myself, if I had been buried to that air. 

Four brigands began to dig a grave in the middle of 
the chamber, upon the place where Mrs. Simons’ tent 
stood, and on the spot where Mary-Ann had slept. Two 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


187 


Others ran to the store-house to find wax-tapers, which 
they distributed. I was given one with all the others. 
The monk intoned the service for the dead. Hadgi- 
Stavros made the responses in firm tones which went 
to the depths of my soul. There was a light breeze, 
and the wax from my taper fell upon my hand in a 
burning shower; but that, alas! was a small thing in 
comparison with what awaited me. I would have will- 
ingly endured that trouble, if the ceremony could never 
have been finished. 

It was finished at last. When the last oration had 
been delivered, the King solemnly approached the bier 
on which the body lay, and kissed Vasile’s lips. The 
bandits, one by one, followed his example. I shivered 
at the thought that my turn was coming. I tried to 
hide behind two who had already performed their duty, 
but they saw me and said: ‘Tt is your turn! Start 
then! You certainly owe him that!’’ 

Was this, at last, the expiation which awaited me? 
A just man would have been satisfied, at least. I swear 
to you. Monsieur, that it is no child’s play to kiss the 
lips of a corpse, above all, when one can reproach 
one’s self with being the instrument of his death. I 
walked toward the bier, I looked at the face whose eyes 
seemed to laugh at my embarrassment. I bent my 
head, I slightly touched the lips. A humorous bri- 
gand applied his hand to the nape of my neck. My 
mouth struck the cold lips! I felt the icy teeth, and 
seized with horror, I raised my head, carrying away 
with me I know not what terror of death, which seizes 


188 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


me at this moment! Women are very fortunate, they 
have the resource of fainting! 

They then lowered the body into the earth, they 
threw in a handful of flowers, a loaf of bread, an apple, 
and a little wine. This latter was the thing of which he 
had the least need. The grave was quickly filled, more 
quickly than I wished. A brigand observed that they 
must get two sticks for a cross. Hadgi-Stavros replied: 
“Be quiet! we will put up milord’s sticks.” I leave 
it to you to think whether my heart beat tumultuously. 
What sticks? What was there in common between 
sticks and me? 

The King made a sign to his pipe-bearer, who ran to 
the office and came back with two long laurel poles. 
Hadgi-Stavros took the funeral bier and laid it upon 
the grave. He pressed it down hard into the freshly 
turned earth, and he raised it up at one end, while the 
other lay in the soil, and he smilingly said to me: ‘Tt 
is for you that I am working! Take off your shoes, if 
you please!” 

He must have read in my eyes a question full of 
agony and terror, for he replied to the demand which 
I dared not address to him : 

“I am not wicked, and I have always detested useless 
severity. That is why I wish to inflict on you a chas- 
tisement which will be of use to us, inasmuch as it will 
dispense with any future watchfulness over you. You 
have had for several days a craze to escape. I hope, 
that when you have received twenty blows of the stick 
upon the soles of your feet, you will no longer need to 
be watched, and your love for traveling will cease for 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


189 


some time. I know what the punishment is; the Turks 
treated me to a dose of it in my youth, and I know, by 
experience, that one does not die of it. One suffers 
much from it; you will cry out, I warn you of it. 
Vasile will hear from the depths of his tomb, and he 
will be pleased with us.’’ 

At this announcement, my first thought was to use 
my legs while I still had the freedom to do so. But 
you must believe that my will was very weak, for it 
was impossible to put one foot before the other. Hadgi- 
Stavros raised me from the ground as lightly as we 
pick up an insect in our path. I felt myself bound 
down and unshod, before a thought, leaving my brain, 
had time to act upon any of my members. I knew 
neither upon what they supported my feet, nor how 
they kept them from falling at the first stroke of the 
stick. I saw the two sticks lifted in the air, the one to 
the right, the other to the left; I closed my eyes and 
waited. I certainly did not wait the tenth part of a 
second, and yet, so short a time was sufficient to send 
a tender thought to my father, a kiss to Mary-Ann, 
and more than a hundred imprecations to be divided 
between Mrs. Simons and John Harris. 

I did not become unconscious for an instant; it is a 
weakness which I never possessed, I have told you so. 
There was, also, nothing to lose. The first blow was so 
terrific that I believed that those which followed could 
amount to little. It took me in the middle of the 
soles, under that small, elastic arch, just in front of the 
heel, which supports the body. It was not the foot 
that hurt me most that time; but I believed that the 


190 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


bones of my poor legs were breaking in pieces. The 
second blow struck lower, just under the heels; it gave 
me a shock, profound, violent, which made my whole 
vertebral column quiver, and filled my brain with a 
frightful tumult that almost split my cranium. The 
third was given directly on the toes and produced an 
acute and stinging sensation, which shot all over 
my body and made me believe, for an instant, that 
the stick had hit me on the end of the nose. It was at 
this moment that the blood flowed for the first time. 
The blows succeeded each other in the same order 
and in the same places, at equal intervals. I had 
enough courage to keep silent during the first two; I 
cried out at the third; I howled at the fourth; I 
groaned at the fifth, and those which followed. At the 
tenth, the flesh itself could suffer no more; I was 
silent. But the prostration of my physical force di- 
minished, in no wise, the clearness of my perceptions. 
I could not have raised my eyelids, and yet the light- 
est sounds reached my ears. I lost no word of v/hat 
was said around me. It was an observation which I 
shall remember later, if I practice medicine. Doctors 
do not hesitate to condemn a sick man, four feet from 
his bed, without thinking that perhaps the poor devil 
can hear them. I heard a young brigand say to the 
King: “He is dead. What good to weary two men 
without profit to any one?” Hadgi-Stavros replied: 
“Fear nothing. I received sixty, one after another, 
and two days afterward I danced the Romanique.” 

“How didst thou do that?” 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


191 


'‘I used the pomade of the Italian renegade, Ludgi- 
Bey — Where were we? How many blows 

“Seventeen.” 

“Three more, my children; and lay on the last ones 
hard.” 

The stick had done its work well. The last blows 
fell upon a bloody but insentient mass of flesh. Pain 
had nearly paralyzed me! 

They raised me from the stretcher; they unbound 
the cords; they swathed my feet with compresses 
dipped in fresh water, and, as I had the thirst of the 
wounded, they gave me a large cup of .vine. Anger 
returned with my strength. I do not know whether 
you have ever been bastinadoed, but I know nothing 
more humiliating than physical chastisement. In or- 
der to become the sovereign of the whole world, I 
would not, for an instant, be the slave of a vile stick. 
Born in the nineteenth century, understanding the use 
of steam and electricity, possessing a good share of 
the secrets of nature, knowing thoroughly all that 
science has invented for the well-being and security of 
man, knowing also how to cure fevers, how to pre- 
vent taking small-pox, and then, not to be able to de- 
fend one’s self against a blow from a stick. It is a 
little too much, surely! If I had been a joldier and 
had submitted to corporal punishment, I should 
certainly have killed my chiefs ! 

When I felt myself seated on the slimy ground, my 
feet paralyzed with pain, my hand useless; when I saw 
around me the men who had beaten me, the ones who 
had struck me and those who had seen me punished; 


192 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


anger, shame, a feeling of outraged dignity, of justice 
violated, of intelligence brutalized, swept through my 
enfeebled body in a wave of hate, of revolt, and of 
vengeance. I forgot everything, prudence, interest, 
discretion, the future, and I gave free vent to the 
thoughts which stifled me; a torrent of abuse poured 
from my lips, while an overflow of bile mounted to 
my eyes. Surely, I am no orator, and my solitary 
studies have given me no exercise in the use of words, 
but indignation, which has made some poets, lent me, 
for a quarter of an hour, the savage eloquence of those 
prisoners who rendered up their souls with insults 
and who breathed their last sighs in the face of the 
Roman conquerors. Everything which can outrage a 
man in his pride, in his affections, and in his dearest 
sentiments I said to the King of the Mountains. I 
put him in the rank with unclean animals, and 1 
denied him even the name of man. I insulted him 
through his mother, his wife, his daughter, and all 
of his posterity. I would like to repeat to you, ver- 
batim, all that I made him listen to, but words are 
wanting to-day, as I am not angry. I invented terms 
which are not found in the dictionary, but which were 
understood, however, for the audience of outcasts 
howled under my words like a pack of hounds under 
the lash of whippers-in. But although I kept watch 
of the old Palikar, eagerly scanning the muscles of his 
face, and searching for the slightest trace of a frown, 
I could discern not the slightest sign of emotion. 
Hadgi-Stavros’ face was like that of a marble statue. 
He replied to all insults with a contemptuous silence. 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 193 

His attitude exasperated me to madness. I was cer- 
tainly insane for a moment. A red cloud like blood 
passed before my eyes. I rose suddenly on my 
wounded feet. I saw a pistol thrust in the waist-band 
of one of the brigands, I pulled it out, I aimed it at the 
King, I drew the trigger, and fell back murmuring, “I 
am avenged!” 

It was the King himself who raised me. I looked 
at him with an astonishment as great as if I had seen 
him walking out of hell. He seemed not at all moved, 
and smiled as tranquilly as an immortal. And more- 
over, Monsieur, I had not missed him. My ball 
had touched his forehead, a little above the left 
eyebrow; a trace of blood testified to it. Possibly 
the pistol was badly loaded, or the powder poor, 
or it may be, that the ball had glanced across the 
bone, but whatever it was, my bullet had made only 
an abrasion. 

The invulnerable monster seated me carefully on 
the ground, leaned toward me, pulled my ear and said: 
“Why do you attempt the impossible, young man? I 
warned you that I had a head that was bullet-proof, 
and you know that I never lie. Were you not told 
that Ibrahim had seven Egyptians shoot at me and 
that he was unsuccessful? I hope that you do not 
pretend to be more powerful than seven Egyptians? 
But do you know that you have a nimble hand for a 
Northern man? Peste! if my mother, of whom you 
spoke lightly a few moments ago, had not en- 
dowed me with strength, I would now be a dead man. 
Another, in my place, would have died without hav- 
13 


194 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


ing time to say, ‘Thank you !’ As for me, such things 
rejuvenate me. It recalls my best days. At your age, 
I exposed my life four times a day, and I only di- 
gested the better for it. Come, I will pardon you your 
hasty action. But as all my subjects are not proof 
against bullets, and that you may commit no new 
imprudence, I shall apply to your hands the same 
treatment as your feet received. Nothing prevents us 
from punishing you immediately; I will wait, however, 
until to-morrow, in the interests of your health. You 
see the stick is a blunt weapon which kills no one; 
you have yourself proved that one bastinadoed man is 
worth two. To-morrow’s ceremony will occupy you. 
Prisoners do not know how to pass the time. It was 
idleness which gave you bad counsels. Rest easy, 
moreover; as soon as your ransom arrives, I will cure 
your wounds. I still have some of Ludgi-Bey’s balm. 
There will be no signs of them at the end of two days, 
and you can dance at the ball at the Palace, without 
telling your partners that they are leaning on the arm 
of a cavalier who has been beaten.” 

I am not a Greek, and the insults wounded me as 
grievously as the blows. I shook my fist in the old 
rascal’s face, and cried out with all my strength: 

“No, wretch! my ransom will never be paid! No! 
I have not asked anyone for the money! Thou wilt 
get from me only my head, which will serve thee noth- 
ing. Take it quickly if it seems good to thee. It will 
do me a favor and thyself also. Thou wilt spare me 
two weeks of torture, and the disgust of looking at 
thee, which is the most of all. Thou wilt save my 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


195 


board for fifteen days. Do not miss it, it is the only 
benefit that thou wilt reap from me!’’ 

He smiled, shrugged his shoulders, and replied: 
“Ta! ta! ta! ta! Thus it is with young people! Ex- 
tremists in everything! They throw the helve after 
the hatchet. If I listened to you, I would regret it 
before eight hours had passed, and so would you. The 
Englishwomen will pay, I am sure of it. I know 
women yet, although I have lived in retirement for a 
long time. What would be said if I killed you to-day, 
and your ransom arrived to-morrow? The story 
would go out that I had broken my word, and my 
prisoners would allow themselves to be killed like 
sheep, without asking a centime of their parents. It 
would spoil the trade.” 

“Ah ! thou believest that the Englishwomen will pay 
thee, my clever fellow? Yes, they will pay thee as 
thou meritest!” 

“You are very good.” 

“Their ransom will cost thee 80,000 francs, dost thou 
hear? Eighty thousand francs out of thy pocket!” 

“Do not say such things. One would think that the 
blows of the stick had turned your brain.” 

“I tell thee the truth. Dost thou recall the name 
of thy prisoners?” 

“No, but I have it in writing.” 

“I will jog thy memory. The lady called herself 
Mrs Simons.” 

“Well!” 

“Partner of the firm of Baney in London.” 

“My banker?” 


196 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


‘Trecisely.” 

^‘How doest thou know my banker^s name?” 

“Because thou didst dictate before me.” 

“What matter, after all? They cannot escape; they 
are not Greeks, they are English; the courts — I 
will make complaint!” 

“And thou wouldst lose. They have a receipt!” 

“That is so. But by what mischance did I give them 
a receipt?” 

“Because I advised thee to do it, poor man!” 

“Wretch! dog wrongly baptized! heretic of hell! 
thou hast ruined me! thou hast betrayed me! Thou 
hast robbed me ! eighty thousand francs ! I am respon- 
sible! If they were the bankers of the company, I 
would lose only my share. But they hold only my 
capital; I shall lose it all. Art thou very sure that she 
is a partner of the firm of Barley?” 

“As I am sure of dying to-day.” 

“No! thou shalt not die till to-morrow. Thou 
hast not suffered enough. We will make thee pay for 
those 80,000 francs. What punishment can we invent? 
Eighty thousand francs! Eighty thousand deaths 
would be little. What have I done to this traitor who 
has robbed me! Peuh! Child’s play, a pleasantry! 
He has not howled two hours! I must invent some- 
thing better. But may be there are two firnts of the 
same name?” 

“Cavendish Square, No. 31.” 

“Yes, it is the same. Fool! why didst thou not warn 
me instead of betraying me? I would have asked 
double the sum. They would have paid it; they have 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


197 


the means. I would not have given the receipt; I 
will never give another. No! no! it is the last time! 
Received a hundred thousand francs of Mrs. Simons! 
What a foolish sentence! Was it really I who dictated 
that? But I reflect now; I did not sign it. Yes, but 
my seal is equal to a signature! There are twenty 
letters in my name. Why didst thou demand this re- 
ceipt? What do you expect from those ladies? Fif- 
teen thousand francs for thy ransom? Selfishness, 
everywhere! Thou shouldst have confided in me; 
I would have let thee go without the ransom ; I would 
even have paid thee. If thou art poor, as thou sayest 
thou art, thou shouldst know how good money is. 
Thou thinkest only of a sum of 80,000 francs? Dost 
thou know what a heap that would make in a room? 
How many pieces of gold? How much money one 
could make in business with 80,000 francs? It is a 
calamity! Thou hast robbed me of a fortune! Thou 
hast robbed my daughter, the only being I love in the 
world. It is for her that I work. But, if thou know- 
est my affairs, thou knowest that I scour the moun- 
tains for a whole year to gain 40,000 francs. Thou 
hast plundered me of two years^ income; it is as if I 
had slept for two years!” 

I had then found the tender chord. The old Pali- 
kar was touched to the heart. I knew that there was 
a heavy score against me, and I expected no mercy, and 
moreover, I experienced an intense joy in seeing that 
impassable mask torn asunder and that stony face 
wrung with emotion. I rejoiced to see in his wrinkled 
face, the convulsive movements of passion, as the ship- 


198 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


wrecked boat lost in a raging sea, admires, afar off, the 
wave which is to engulf it I was like the thinking 
reed, which the brutal universe crushes into a shapeless 
mass, and which consoles itself in dying with the lofty 
thought of its superiority. I said to myself, with 
pride: “I shall die by torture, but I am the master of 
my master, and the executioner of my execution!” 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


199 


VII. 

JOHN HARRIS. 

The King contemplated his vengeance, as a man 
who has fasted three days contemplates a bountiful re- 
past. He examined, one by one, all the dishes, I mean 
to say all the tortures; he licked his dry lips, but he 
knew not where to commence nor what to choose. 
One would have said that excess of hunger spoiled his 
appetite. He struck his head with his fist, as if he 
could force out some ideas, but they came so rapidly 
that it was not easy to seize one in its passage. 
^‘Speak P he cried to his subjects. “Advise me ! What 
good are you, if you are not able to give me advice? 
Shall I await the coming of the Corfuan, or until Vasile 
shall speak from the depths of his tomb? Find for me, 
beasts that you are, some torture for the loss of 80,000 
francs.” 

The young pipe-bearer said to his master: “An idea 
strikes me. Thou hast one officer dead, another ab- 
sent, and a third wounded. Put up their places for 
competition. Promise us that those who shall tell of 
the best way to avenge thee, shall succeed Sophocles, 
the Corfuan, and Vasile.” 

Hadgi-^Stavros smiled complacently at this strata- 
gem. He stroked the young boy’s chin and said to 
him: 

“Thou art ambitious, my little man! All in good 
time! Ambition i? the result of courage. Agreed, 


200 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


for a competition! It is a modern idea, a European 
idea, that pleases me. To reward thee, thou shalt give 
thy advice, first; and if thou findest something very 
good, Vasile shall have no other heir but thee.” 

“I would,” said the child, ‘*pull out some of my 
lord^s teeth, put a bit in his mouth, and make him run, 
bridled, till he dropped from fatigue.” 

“His feet are too sore; he would fall down at the 
first step. And you others? Tambouris, Moustakas, 
Coltzida, Milotia, speak, I am listening.” 

“I,” said Coltzida, “I would break boiling hot eggs 
under his arm-pits. I tried it on a woman of Magara, 
and I had much fun.” 

“I,” said Tambouris, “I would put him on the 
ground with a rock weighing five hundred pounds on 
his chest. It thrusts out one’s tongue and makes 
one spit blood; it is fine!” 

“I,” said Milotia, “I would put vinegar in his nos- 
trils, and drive thorns under every nail. One sneezes 
violently and one does not know what to do with one’s 
hands.” 

Moustakas was one of the cooks of the band. He 
proposed to cook me in front of a small fire. The 
King’s face expanded. 

The monk assisted at the conference, and let them 
talk without giving his advice. He, however, took 
pity on me, according to the measure of his sensibility, 
and helped me as far as his intelligence permitted. 
“Moustakas,” he said, “is too wicked. One can tor- 
ture milord finely without burning him alive. If you 
will give him salt meat without allowing him to drink 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


201 


he will live a long time, he will suffer a great deal, 
and the King will satisfy his vengeance without inter- 
fering with God’s vengeance. It is my disinterested 
advice which I give you; I shall make nothing by it; 
but I wish everyone to be pleased, since the monastery 
has received its tithe.” 

“Halt, there!” interrupted the coffee-bearer. “Good 
old man, I have an idea which is better than thine. I 
condemn milord to die of hunger. The others will do 
any evil to him which pleases them; I will not hinder 
them. But I would place a sentinel before his mouth, 
and I would take care that he had neither a drop of 
water nor a crumb of bread. Weakness would re- 
double his hunger; his wounds would increase his 
thirst, and the tortures of the others would finally 
finish him to my profit. What dost thou say. Sire? 
Is it not well reasoned and will it not give me Vasile’s 
place?” 

“Go to the devil, all of you!” cried the King. “You 
would reason less calmly if the wretch had plundered 
you of 86,000 francs! Carry him away to the camp 
and take your pleasure out of him. But unhappy the 
one who kills him by any imprudence! This man 
must die only by my hand. I intend that he shall re- 
imburse me, in pleasure, for all that he has taken 
from me in money. He shall shed his blood drop by 
drop, as a bad debtor who pays sou by sou.” 

You would not believe. Monsieur, with what strug- 
gles the most wretched man will cling to life. Truly, 
I longed to die; and the happiest thing which could 
happen to me would be to end it all with one blow. 


202 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


Something, however, rejoiced me at Hadgi-Stavros’ 
threat. I blessed the extension of my time. Hope 
sprang up in my heart. If a charitable friend had of- 
fered to blow out my brains I would have looked twice 
at him. 

Four brigands took me by the shoulders and legs 
and carried me, a shrieking mass, to the King’s cab- 
inet. My voice awakened Sophocles on his pallet. 
He called his companions and made them tell him the 
news, and asked to look at me closely. It was the 
caprice of a sick person. They threw me down by 
his side. 

“Milord,” he said to me, “we are both very weak, 
but the odds are that I shall get well sooner than you 
do. It appears that they are already talking of my 
successor. How unjust men are! My place is up for 
competition. Oh, well! I wish to compete and to 
put myself in the race. You will bear witness in my 
favor and your groans will testify that Sophocles is 
not yet dead. You shall be bound, and I take upon 
myself the pleasure of tormenting you with one hand, 
as spiritedly as the strongest of the band.” 

In order to please the unfortunate fellow they bound 
me. He turned over towards me and began to pull 
out hairs, one by one, with the patience and the regu- 
larity of a professional hair remover. When I saw 
what this new punishment was to be, I believed that 
the wounded man, touched by my misery, and sym- 
pathizing with me because of his own sufferings, 
wished to shield me from his comrades, and give me 
an hour’s respite. The extraction of one hair is not 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


203 


SO painful, by a good deal, as the prick of a pin. The 
first twenty came out, one after the other, without any 
discomfiture. But soon I changed my tune. The 
scalp, irritated by a multitude of imperceptible lesions, 
became inflamed. A dull itching began on my head; 
it became a little livelier; and at last it was intolerable. 
I would like to have raised my hands to my head; I 
understood with what intuition the wretch had had me 
bound. Impatience but aggravated the trouble; all 
the blood in my body rushed to my head. Every time 
Sophocles approached his hand to my scalp, a woful 
shivering seized my whole body. A thousand inex- 
plicable stingings tormented my arms and legs. The 
nervous system, irritated at every point, enveloped me 
in a network more exasperating than Dejanire’s tunic. 
I rolled over on the ground, I groaned, I cried for 
mercy, I regretted the bastinado. The executioner 
had pity on me only when he had completely ex- 
hausted himself. When he felt his eyes become dim, 
his head heavy, and his arm weary, he made a last 
effort, plunged his hand into my hair, seized a fist full, 
and fell over on his pallet, drawing from me a despair- 
ing cry. 

“Come with me,” said Moustakas. “Thou shalt de- 
cide, in a corner by the fire, if I can compete with 
Sophocles, and whether I merit a lieutenancy.” 

He raised me like a feather and carried me to the 
camp, in front of a heap of resinous wood and piled 
up brushwood. He took off the bonds, he stripped me 
of my clothes, leaving me only my trousers. “Thou 
shalt be my under-cook,” he said. “We will make the 


204 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


fire and we will prepare the King’s dinner, together.” 

He lighted the stack of wood and laid me out on 
back, about two feet from the mountain of flames. 
The wood crackled, the red cinders fell like hail around 
me. The heat became unbearable. I hitched along 
with my hands a little distance, but he came with a 
frying-pan in his hand, and pushed me back with his 
foot to the place where he had first laid me. 

“Look well, and profit by my lessons. Here are 
the heart, liver, and kidneys from three sheep; there 
is enough to feed twenty men. The King will choose 
the most delicate morsels; he will distribute the re- 
mainder to his men. Thou wilt have none of it for the 
present, and if thou tastest my cooking, it will be with 
the eyes only.” 

I soon heard the bubbling in the sauce pan, and it 
reminded me that I had been fasting since the evening 
before. My hunger added one more torment. Mous- 
takas held the pan under my eyes and made me look at 
the appetizing color of the meat. He thrust it under 
my nose and I smelled the steam of the food. Sud- 
denly he perceived that he had forgotten the seasoning, 
and he hurried away to find the salt and pepper, leav- 
ing the sauce pan to my care. The first idea which 
came to me was to steal a piece of the meat, but the 
brigands were only ten feet away; they would stop 
me at once. “If I only had my package of arsenic,” 
I thought. What could I have done with it? I had 
not put it back in my box. I thrust my hands into 
my pockets. I drew out a soiled paper and a handful 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


205 


of that beneficent powder, which would save me, per- 
haps, or at least avenge me. 

Moustakas returned at the instant when I was hold- 
ing my open hand above the sauce pan. He seized me 
by the arm, looked me straight in the eye, and said in 
a menacing tone: ‘‘I know what thou hast done.” 

I dropped my arm discouraged. The cook added: 

“Yes, thou hast thrown something over the King^s 
dinner.” 

“What?’’ 

“A spell. But no matter. Believe me, my poor 
milord, Hadgi-Stavros is a greater sorcerer than thou 
art. I am going to serve his dinner. I will have my 
part of it, but thou shalt not taste it.” 

“Great good may it do thee!” 

He left me before the fire, placing me in the care of a 
dozen brigands who were crunching black bread and 
bitter olives. These Spartans kept me company for 
an hour or two. They attended to my fire with the 
watchfulness of sick nurses. If, at times, I attempted 
to drag myself a little further away from my torture 
they cried out: “Take care, thou wilt freeze!” And 
they pushed me toward the flames with heavy blows 
of the burning brushwood. My back was covered 
with red spots, my skin was raised in blisters, my eye- 
lashes had succumbed to the heat of the fire, my hair 
exhaled an odor of burning horn, and yet I rubbed my 
hands in glee at the thought of the King eating my 
cooking and that something startling would happen 
upon Parnassus before night. 

Very soon Hadgi-Stavros’ men re-appeared in the 


206 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


camp, stomachs filled, eyes shining, faces smiling. 
“Go on!’^ I thought, “your joy and your health will 
soon fall like a mask, and you will curse each mouthful 
of the feast which I seasoned for you !” The celebrated 
poisoner, Locuste, must have passed some very pleas- 
ant moments during her life. When one has reason 
to hate men, it is pleasure enough to see a vigorous 
being who goes, who comes, who laughs, who sings, 
while carrying in his intestines a seed of death which 
will spring up and devour him. It is a little like the 
same joy a good doctor experiences at the sight of a 
dying man whom he is able to bring back to life. 
Locuste used medicine inversely, as I did. 

My malevolent reflections were interrupted by a sin- 
gular tumult. The dogs barked in chorus, and a 
messenger, out of breath, appeared on the plateau 
with the whole pack at his heels. It was Dimitri, the 
son of Christodule. Some stones thrown by the ban- 
dits freed him from his escort. He shouted at the top 
of his lungs: “The King! I must speak to the King!” 
When he was about twenty steps from us, I called to 
him in a doleful tone. He was terrified at the state in 
which he found me, and he cried out: “The fools! 
Poor girl!” 

“My good Dimitri!” I said to him, “where dost thou 
come from? Will my ransom be paid?” 

“The ransom is well at stake, but fear nothing, I 
bring good news. Good for you, bad for me, for him, 
for her, for everybody! I must see Hadgi-Stavros. 
There is not a moment to lose. Until I come back, 
suffer no one to do you any harm; she would die for 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


207 


it! You hear, you wretches; do not touch milord. 
For your life. The King would cut you in pieces. 
Conduct me to the King!” 

The world is such that a man who speaks as a master 
is almost sure of being obeyed. There was so much 
authority in the voice of this servant, and his passion 
expressed itself in a tone so imperious that my guards, 
astonished and stupefied, forgot to keep me near the 
fire. I crept some distance away, and deliciously re- 
posed upon the cold rock, until Hadgi-Stavros’ ar- 
rival. He appeared not less agitated than Dimitri. 
He took me in his arms like a sick child, and carried 
me, without stopping, to that fatal chamber where 
Vasile was buried. He laid me on his own carpet 
with maternal solicitude; he stepped back and looked 
at me with a curious mixture of hate and pity. He 
said to Dimitri: “My child, this is the first time that I 
have left such a crime unpunished. He killed Vasile, 
that was nothing. He would have assassinated me, 
I pardoned him. But he robbed me, the scamp! 
Eighty thousand francs less in Photini^s dowry! I 
sought for a punishment equal to his crime. Oh, rest 
easy! I should have found it. Unhappy that I am! 
Why did I not restrain my anger? I have treated him 
harshly. And she will bear the penalty. If she re- 
ceives two blows of the stick upon her little feet I shall 
never see her again. Men do not die of it, but a 
woman, a child of fifteen!” 

He cleared the place of all the men who were crowd- 
ing around us. He gently unwound the bloody band- 
ages which enveloped my wounds. He sent his pipe- 


208 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


bearer for the balm of Ludgi-Bey. He seated himself 
on the damp grass in front of me, he took my feet in 
his hands and looked at the wounds. An almost in- 
credible thing to tell ! There were tears in his eyes ! 

“Poor child!” he said, “you have suffered cruelly. 
Pardon me. I am an old brute, a wolf of the moun- 
tain, a Palikar. I was trained in ferocity from twenty 
years of age. But you see that my heart is good, since 
I regret what I have done. I am more unhappy than 
you, because your eyes are dry and I weep. I shall 
set you at liberty without a moment’s delay, or rather, 
no, you cannot go away thus. I will cure you first. 
The balm is a sovereign remedy. I will care for you 
as for a son. Health shall return quickly. You must 
be able to walk to-morrow. She must not remain a 
day longer in your friend’s hands. In the name of 
Heaven tell no one of our quarrel to-day! You know 
that I do not hate you ! I have said so often. I sym- 
pathized with you and I gave you my confidence. I 
told you my most sacred secrets. Do you not re- 
member that we were friends until Vasile’s death? An 
instant’s anger must not make you forget twelve days 
of good treatment. You would not wish to break a 
father’s heart. You are an honest young man; your 
friend ought to be good like you.” 

“But who, then?” 

“Who? That cursed Harris! that devilish Ameri- 
can! that execrable pirate! that kidnapper of children! 
that assassin of young girls ! that wretch whom I v/ish 
I held with you so that I could crush you in my hands, 
grind you together, and scatter your dust to the winds 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


209 


of my mountains! You arc all the same, Europeans, 
a race of traitors, who dare not attack men, and who 
have courage to fight only against children. Read 
what he has written me and tell me if there are tortures 
cruel enough to chastise a crime like his!” 

He savagely hurled a crumpled letter at me. I in- 
stantly recognized the writing, and I read: 

“Sunday, May II, on board The Fancy, Bay of Salamis. 
“Hadgi-Stavros: 

“Photini is on board under guard of four American 
cannons. I shall hold her as hostage as long as 
Hermann Schultz is prisoner. As thou treatest my 
friend, so shall I treat thy daughter. She shall pay 
hair for hair, tooth for tooth, head for head. Reply 
to me without delay, otherwise I shall come to see 
thee! John Harris.” 

On reading this letter I could not restrain my joy. 
“The good Harris!’’ I shouted, “I who accused him! 
But explain, Dimitri, why he has not rescued me 
sooner?” 

“He has been away, Mr. Hermann; he was chasing 
pirates. He returned yesterday morning, unfortun- 
ately for us. Why did he not remain away!” 

“Excellent Harris! He has not lost a single day. 
But where did he kidnap the daughter of this old 
scamp?” 

“At our house, M. Hermann. You know her, Pho- 
tini. You have dined more than once with her.” 

The Daughter of the King of the Mountains was 
then that boarding-school miss with the fiat nose, who 
sighed for John Harris. 

14 


210 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


I concluded from this that the abduction had been 
accomplished without violence. 

The pipe-bearer now came up with a package of 
linen and a bottle filled with yellow pomade. The 
King dressed my feet with practiced touch, and I ex- 
perienced within an hour a certain relief. Hadgi- 
Stavros was, at this moment, a fine subject for the 
study of psychology. He had as much brutality in his 
eyes as delicacy in his touch. He unwound the band- 
ages from my instep so gently that I scarcely felt it; 
but his glance said: “If I could only strangle thee!’’ 
He took out the pins as adroitly as a woman; but 
with what pleasure would he have thrust his cangiar 
into me. 

When he had adjusted the bandages, he stretched 
out his clenched fists and savagely roared: 

‘T am no longer a King, since I must refrain from 
gratifying my anger I I, who have always commanded, 
I obey a threat! He, who has made millions of men 
tremble, is afraid! They will boast of it, without doubt; 
they will tell the whole world of it; Oh! for the means 
to silence those European gossips! They will publish 
it in their papers, perhaps even in their novels. Why 
did I marry? Ought such a man to have children? 
I was born to fight soldiers and not to rear up little 
girls! Thunder is not for children; cannons are not 
for children. If they were, they would no longer fear 
the thunder-bolts and cannon-balls. This John Harris 
may well laugh at me! What if I should declare war 
against him? What if I should capture his ship by 
force? I have attacked many, when I was a pirate, 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


211 


and twenty such cannons did not trouble me. But 
niy daughter was not on board. Dear little one! 
You know her then, Monsieur Hermann? Why did 
you not tell me that you boarded with Christodule? 
I would have asked no ransom; I would have released 
you instantly, for love of Photini. Truly, I wish that 
she knew your language. She will be a princess in 
Germany, some day or other. Is it not true that she 
will make a beautiful Princess? I think so! Since you 
know her you will forbid your friend to do her any 
harm. Could you have the heart to see a tear fall from 
those dear eyes? She has never harmed you, the poor 
innocent! If anyone ought to expiate your sufferings, 
it is L Tell M. John Harris that you bruised your 
feet on the paths ; you may then do me any harm you 
choose.^^ 

Dimitri stopped this torrent of words. ‘Tt is very 
unfortunate that M. Hermann is wounded. Photini 
is not safe in the midst of those heretics, and I know 
M. Harris: he is capable of anything!” 

The King scowled. Suspicions of a lover entered 
the father’s heart. “Be off, then,” he said to me; “I 
will carry you if necessary to the foot of the mountain ; 
you can find, in some village, a horse, a carriage, a lit- 
ter; I will furnish everything needed. But let him 
know, that from to-day, you are free, and swear to me, 
on the head of your mother, that you will tell no one of 
the injury which has been done you?” 

I scarcely knew how I could endure the fatigues of 
the journey; but anything seemed preferable to the 
company of my tormentors. I feared that a new 


212 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


obstacle might arise before I was free. I said to the 
King: “Let us start! I swear to you by all I hold most 
sacred, that they shall not touch a hair of your daugh- 
ter’s head!” 

He raised me in his arms, threw me over his shoul- 
der, and mounted the staircase to his cabinet. The 
entire band rushed out in front of him and barred our 
passage. Moustakas, livid as a man attacked with 
cholera, said to him: “Where art thou g'oing? The 
German has thrown a spell over the food. We are suf- 
fering all the pains of hell. We are frightfully ill, 
through his fault, and we wish to see him die.” 

My hopes were dashed to the ground. Dimitri’s ar- 
rival; John Harris’ providential interference; Hadgi- 
Stavros’ change of front; the humiliation of that superb 
head to the feet of his prisoner; so many events, 
crowded into a quarter of an hour, had turned my 
head; I had already forgotten the past, and I had 
rashly begun to count on the future. 

At the sight of Moustakas, I remembered the poison. 
I felt that any moment might precipitate a fearful event. 
I clung to the King of the Mountains, I wound my 
arms around his neck, I begged him to carry me away 
without delay. “It will redound to thy glory,” I said 
to him. “Prove to these savages that thou art King! 
Do not reply! words are useless. Let us pass over 
their bodies. Thou knowest thyself what interest thou 
hast in saving me. Thy daughter loves John Harris; 
I am sure of it, she confessed it to me !” 

“Wait!” he replied. “Let us pass first! we can talk 
later.’’ 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


213 


He laid me carefully down on the ground, and 
rushed, with clenched fists, into the midst of the 
bandits. “You are fools!” he shouted. “The first one 
who touches milord will answer to me. V/hat spell 
do you say he has cast? I ate with you; am I ill? Let 
me pass! he is an honest man; he is my friend!” 

Suddenly, he changed countenance; his legs gave 
way under the weight of his body. He seated himself 
near me, leaned toward me and said with more grief 
than anger: 

“Imprudent! Why did you not tell me that you had 
poisoned us?” 

I seized the King’s hand; it was cold. His features 
were convulsed; his marble-like face became a fright- 
ful color. At this sight, my strength suddenly failed 
me, and I felt that I was dying. I had nothing more 
to hope for in the world; had I not condemned my- 
self, in killing the only man who had any interest in 
saving me? My head fell on my breast, and I sat, 
helpless, by the side of the livid and shivering old 
man. 

Moustakas and some of the others had, already, 
stretched out their hands to seize me and compel me 
to share their sufferings. Hadgi-Stavros had no 
strength to defend me. Occasionally, a terrible hic- 
cough shook the King, as the wood-cutter’s ax shakes 
an oak a hundred years old. The bandits were per- 
suaded that he was dying, and that the invincible old 
man was about, at last, to be conquered by death. All 
the ties which bound them to their chief, bonds of 
interest, of fear, of hope, and of gratitude, broke like 


214 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


the threads of a spider’s web. The Greeks are the most 
restive people in the world. Their inordinate and in- 
temperate vanity was sometimes subdued, but like a 
steel ready to rebound. They knew how, in case of 
need, to lean upon the strongest, or how to modestly 
follow the lead of the ablest, but not how to pardon 
the master who had protected and enriched them. 
For thirty centuries or more, this nation has been 
composed of a people, egotistical and jealous, which 
only necessity has held together, which inclination 
separates, and which no human power could unite 
entirely. 

Hadgi-Stavros learned to his cost that one does not 
command, with impunity, sixty Greeks. His authority 
did not survive an instant longer than his moral force 
or his physical vigor. Without mentioning the 
wounded men who shook their fists in our faces, while 
reproaching us for their sufferings, the able-bodied 
grouped themselves in front of their legitimate king, 
around a huge, brutal peasant, named Coltzida. He 
was the most garrulous and most shameless of the 
band, an impudent blockhead without talent and with- 
out courage; one of those who hide during action, 
and who carry the flag after a victory; but in like 
situations, fortune favors impudent braggarts. Colt- 
zida, proud of his lungs, heaped insults, by the score, 
on Hadgi-Stavros, as a grave-digger heaps the earth on 
the grave of a dead man. 

“Thou seest,” he said, “a wise man, an invincible 
general, an all-powerful king, and invulnerable mor- 
tal! Thou hast not deserved thy glory, and we have 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


215 


been far-sighted in trusting ourselves to thee! What 
have we gained in thy company? How hast thou 
served us? Thou hast given us fifty-four miserable 
francs a month, a beggarly pittance. Thou hast fed us 
on black bread and mouldy cheese which you would 
not touch, while thou hast accumulated a fortune and 
sent ships loaded with gold to foreign bankers. What 
benefit have we received from our victories and for 
all the blood which we have shed in the mountains? 
Nothing! thou hast kept all for thyself, spoils, personal 
effects, prisoners’ ransoms! It is true that thou hast 
left us the bayonet thrusts: it is the only profit of which 
thou hast not taken thy share. During the two years 
I have been with thee, I have received four wounds in 
the back, and thou hast not a scar to show! If, at 
least, thou hadst known how to lead us ! If thou hadst 
chosen good opportunities, when there was little to 
risk and much to gain! Thou hast beaten us; thou 
hast been our executioner; thou hast sent us into the 
wolves’ jaws! Thou hast then hastened to be done 
with us and to retire us on a pension! Thou wert 
longing so much to see us all buried near Vasile ‘•hat 
thou deliveredst us to this cursed lord, who has thrown 
a spell over our bravest soldiers! But do not hope to 
cheat us from our vengeance. I know why thou wish- 
est to have him go away; he has paid his ransom. But 
what dost thou wish to do with this money? Wilt thou 
carry it away to a foreign country? Thou art sick, 
opportunely, my poor Hadgi-Stavros. Milord has not 
spared thee, thou art dying also, and it is well! My 
friends, we are our own masters. We will no longer 


216 


TUB KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


obey anyone, we will do whatever pleases us, we will 
eat the best, we will drink all of the wine of Aegina, 
we will burn an entire forest to cook whole herds, we 
will pillage the kingdom ! we will take Athens and we 
will camp in the Palace gardens! You have only to 
allow yourselves to be led; I know the best methods! 
Let us begin by throwing the old man, with his much 
loved lord, into the ravine; I will then tell you what is 
necessary to do!’^ 

Coltzida’s eloquence came near costing us our lives, 
because his audience applauded. Hadgi-Stavros’ old 
comrades, ten or a dozen devoted Palikars, who might 
have come to his aid, had eaten dessert at his table: 
they were also writhing in agony. But a popular 
orator cannot elevate himself above his fellows with- 
out creating jealousies. When it became clear that 
Coltzida proposed to become chief of the band, Tam- 
bouris and some other ambitious ones faced about and 
ranged themselves on our side. To a man they liked 
better the man who knew how to lead them than this 
insolent braggart, whose incapacity repelled them. 
They urged that the King had not long to live, and that 
he would appoint his successor from among the faith- 
ful who remained around him. It was no ordinary 
affair. The odds were that the capitalists would more 
readily ratify Hadgi-Stavros’ choice, than endorse a 
revolutionary election. Eight or ten voices were raised 
in our defense. Ours, because our interests were one. 
I clung to the King of the Mountains, and he had one 
arm around my neck. Tambouris and his fellows put 
their heads together; a plan of defense was formed; 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


217 


three men profited by the uproar to run, with Dimitri, 
to the arsenal, to get arms and cartridges, and to lay 
along the path a train of powder. They came back 
and discreetly mixed with the crowd. They formed 
into two parties; insults were hurled from one to the 
other. Our champions, with their backs to Mary- 
Ann’s chamber, guarded the stair-case, they made a 
rampart of their bodies for us, and kept the enemy in 
the King’s cabinet. In the scrimmage, a pistol-shot 
rung out. A ribbon of fire ran over the ground and the 
rock flew up with a fearful noise. 

Coltzida and his followers, surprised by the detona- 
tion, ran to the arsenal. Tambouris lost not an instant; 
he raised Hadgi-Stavros, descended the stair-case in 
two bounds, laid him in a safe place, returned, picked 
me up, carried, and laid me at the King’s feet. Our 
friends intrenched themselves in the chamber, cut 
trees, barricaded the stair-case, and organized a de- 
fense before Coltzida could return. 

Then, we counted our forces. Our army was com- 
posed of the King, his two servants, Tambouris with 
eight brigands, Dimitri, and myself; in all fourteen 
men, of whom three were disabled. The coffee-bearer 
had been poisoned also, and he began to show the 
first rigors of illness. But we had two guns apiece, and 
a great supply of cartridges, while the enemy had no 
arms nor ammunition except what they carried on their 
persons. They possessed the advantage of numbers 
and point of vantage. We did not know exactly how 
many able-bodied men they had, but we must expect 
to meet twenty-five or thirty assailants. I need not de- 


218 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


scribe to you the place of siege: you know it. Believe, 
however, that the aspect of the place had changed a 
great deal since the day when I breakfasted there for 
the first time, under guard of the Corfuan, with Mrs. 
Simons and Mary-Ann. The roots of our beautiful 
trees were exposed, and the nightingale was far aw^y. 
What is more important for you to know, is, that we 
were protected on the right and left by rocks, inac- 
cessible even to the enemy. They could attack us from 
the King^s cabinet, and they could watch us from the 
bottom of the ravine. On the one hand, their balls 
flew over us; on the other, ours flew over the sentinels, 
but at such long range that it was wasting our ammuni- 
tion. 

If Coltzida and his companions had possessed the 
least idea of war, they could have done for us. They 
could have raised the barricade, entered by force, 
driven us into a corner, or thrown us over into the 
ravine. But the imbecile, who had two men to our one, 
thought to husband his ammunition, and place, as 
sharp-shooters, twenty stupid men who did not know 
how to discharge a gun. Our men were not much more 
skillful. Better commanded, however, and wiser, they 
managed to smash five heads before night fell. The 
combatants knew each other by name. They called to 
each other after the fashion of Homer’s heroes. One 
attempted to convert the other by aiming at his cheek ; 
the other replied by a ball and by argument. The 
combat was only an armed discussion when, from time 
to time, the muskets spoke. 

As for me, stretched out in a corner, sheltered from 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


219 


the balls, I tried to undo my fatal work, and to recall 
the poor King of the Mountains to life. He suffered 
cruelly; he complained of great thirst, and a sharp 
pain in the upper part of the abdomen. His icy hands 
and feet were violently convulsed. The pulse was ir- 
regular, the respiration labored. His stomach seemed 
to struggle against an internal execution, without be- 
ing able to expel it. His mind had lost nothing of its 
vigor and its quickness; his bright and keen eye 
searched the horizon in the direction of the Bay of 
Salamis, and Photini’s floating prison. 

He grasped my hand and said: “Cure me, my dear 
child! You are a doctor, you ought to cure me. I 
will not reproach you with what you have done; you 
were right; you had reason to kill me, because I 
swore that without your friend Harris I would not 
have allowed you to escape me. Is there nothing to 
quench the fire which consumes me? I care nothing 
for life; I have lived long enough; but if I die, they 
will kill you, and my poor Photini will be sacrificed. 
I suffer! Feel my hands; it seems to me that they are 
already dead. Do you believe that this American will 
have the heart to carry out his threats? What was it 
you told me a little while ago? Photini loves him! 
Poor little one ! I have brought her up to become the 
wife of a king. I would rather see her dead, than — 
no, I would rather, after all, that she should love this 
young man; perhaps he may take pity on her. What 
are you to him? a friend; nothing more; you are not 
even a compatriot. One may have as many friends 
as one wishes; one cannot find two women like Pho- 


220 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


tini; I would strangle all my friends if I found it to 
my advantage ; I would never kill a woman who loved 
me. If only he knew how rich she is! Americans are 
practical, at least, so it is said. But the poor, little 
innocent knows nothing about her fortune. I ought to 
have told her. But how can I let him know that she 
will have a dowry of four millions? We are Coltzida’s 
prisoners. Cure me then, and by all the saints in 
paradise I will crush the reptile!” 

I am not a physician, and all I know about toxi- 
cology is in its elementary treatment; I remembered, 
however, that arsenical poisoning was cured only by a 
method similar to ^‘Doctor Sangrado.^’ I used means 
to make the old man eject the contents of his stomach, 
and I soon began to hope that the poison was almost 
expelled. Reaction followed; his skin became burn- 
ing hot, the pulse quickened, his face flushed, his eyes 
were blood-shot. I asked him if any one of his men 
knew enough to bleed him. He tied a bandage tightly 
around his arm, and coolly opened a vein himself, to 
the noise of the fusilade and while the bullets dashed 
around him. He let out a sufficient amount of blood, 
and asked me in a sweet and tranquil tone, what else 
there was to do. I ordered him to drink, to drink 
more, to keep on drinking, until the last particle of 
arsenic had been disposed of. The goat-skin of white 
wine which had killed Vasile was still in the chamber. 
This wine, mixed with water, brought back life to the 
King. He obeyed me like a child. I believe that the 
first time I held out the cup to him, his poor, old suffer- 
ing Highness seized my hand to kiss it. 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


221 


Toward ten o’clock he became much better, but 
his pipe-bearer was dead. The poor devil could neither 
rid himself of the poison, nor revive. They threw him 
into the ravine, at the top of the cascade. All our 
defenders were in good condition, without a wound, 
but famished as wolves in December. As for me, I 
had been without food for twenty-four hours, and I 
was very hungry. The enemy, in order to defy us, 
passed the night eating and drinking above our heads. 
They threw to us some mutton bones and some empty 
goat-skin bottles. Our men replied with some shots, 
guessing at the position of our foes. We could plainly 
hear the cries of joy and the groans of the dying. 
Coltzida was drunk; the wounded and the sick howled 
in unison; Moustakas did not shout for a long time. 
The tumult kept me awake the entire night near the 
old King. Ah! Monsieur, how long the nights seem 
to him who is not sure of the next day ! 

Tuesday morning broke gray and wet. The sky 
looked threatening at sunrise, and a disagreeable rain 
fell alike on friend and foe. But if we were wide awake 
enough to protect our arms and ammunition. General 
Ccltzida’s army had not taken the same precaution. 
The first engagement redounded entirely to our honor. 
The enemy was badly hidden, and fired their pistols 
with shaking hands. Tlie game seemed so good a 
one, that I took a gun like the others. What happened 
I will write to you about at some future time, if I ever 
become a doctor. I have already confessed to murders 
enough for a man whose business it is not. Hadgi- 
Stavros followed my example; but his hands refused 


222 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


to act; his extremities were swollen and painful, and 
I announced to him, with my usual frankness, that this 
incapacity might last as long as he did. 

About nine o’clock the enemy, who seemed to be 
very attentive in responding to us, suddenly turned 
their backs. I heard heavy firing which was not 
directed to us, and I concluded that Master Coltzida 
had allowed himself to be surprised in the rear. Who 
was the unknown ally who was serving us so good a 
turn? Was it prudent to effect a junction and to de- 
molish our barricade? I asked nothing else, but the 
King believed that it was a troop of the line, and Tam- 
bouris gnawed his moustache. All our doubts were 
soon removed. A voice which was not unknown to 
me, cried: “All right!” Three young men, armed to 
the teeth, sprang forward like tigers, broke down the 
barricade and fell in our midst. Harris and Lobster 
held in each hand a six-shooter. Giacomo brandished 
a musket, the butt-end in the air, like a club: it was 
thus that he knew how to use fire-arms. 

A thunder-bolt falling into the chamber would have 
produced less magical effect than the appearance of 
these men, who shot right and left, and who seemed to 
carry death in their hands. My three fellow-boarders, 
excited by the noise, elated with victory, perceived 
neither Hadgi-Stavros nor me. They only turned 
around in order to kill a man, and God knows! they 
did their work well. Our poor champions, astonished, 
affrighted, were overcome without having had time to 
defend themselves or to be recognized. I, who would 
have saved their lives, shouted from my corner; but 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS 


223 


my voice was drowned in the whistling of bullets, and 
the shouts of the conquerors. Dimitri, crouching be- 
tween the King and me, vainly joined his voice to 
mine. Harris, Lobster, and Giacomo fired, ran here 
and there, knocked down, counting the blows, each in 
his own tongue. 

“One!” said Lobster. 

“Two I” responded Harris. 

“Tre! quatro! cinque!” growled Giacomo. The fifth 
was Tambouris. His head split under the blow like a 
fresh nut struck by a stone. The brains were scattered 
about, and the body sunk into the water like a bundle 
of clothes which a washerwoman throws in the edge 
of a brook. My friends were a fine sight in their 
horrible work. They killed with ferocity, they de- 
lighted in the justice they meted out. While running 
toward the camp, the wind had blown away their hats; 
their locks were disheveled ; their glistening eyes shone 
so murderously, that it was difficult to decide whether 
death was dealt by their looks or by their hands. One 
could have said that destruction was incarnate in this 
panting trio. When they had removed all obstacles 
from their path and they saw no enemies but the three 
or four wounded men stretched on the ground, they 
stopped to breathe. Harris’ first thought was for me. 
Giacomo had only one care: he wished to ascertain 
whether, among the number, he had broken Hadgi- 
Stavros’ head. Harris shouted : “Hermann, where are 
you?” 

“Here!” I replied: and the three fighters ran at my 
call. 


224 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


The King of the Mountains, feeble as he was, put 
one hand on my shoulder, raised himself from the rock, 
looked fixedly at these men who had killed such a 
number to reach him, and said in a firm tone: 'T am 
Hadgi-Stavros!” 

You know that my friends had waited for a long 
time for occasion to chastise the old Palikar. They had 
promised themselves to celebrate his death as a festival. 
They would avenge Mistra’s little daughters; a thou- 
sand other victims; me, and themselves. But, how- 
ever, I had no need to restrain them. There was such 
remains of greatness in this hero in ruins, that their 
anger fell from them and gave way to astonishment. 
They were all three young men, and at the age when 
one no longer takes arms against a disarmed enemy, 
1 related to them, in a few words, how the King had de- 
fended me against his whole band, almost dead as he 
was, and on the same day on which I had poisoned 
him. I explained to them about the battle they had in- 
terrupted, the barricades they had broken down, and 
that strange contest in which they had interfered and 
killed our defenders. 

“So much the worse for them!'^ said John Harris. 
We wear, like Justice, a bandage over our eyes. If 
the rogues performed a good deed before they died, 
it will be counted in their favor up above; I do not 
object to it.” 

“As for the men of whom we have deprived you, do 
not worry about them,” said Lobster. “With two re- 
volvers in our hands and two more in our pockets, we 
have each been worth twentv-four men. We have 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


225 


killed these; the others have only to come back. Is 
it not so, Giacomo?” 

“As for me, I could knock down an army of bulls!” 
said the Maltese; “I am in the humor for it. And to 
think that one is reduced to sealing letters with two 
such fists as these!” 

The enemy, how'ever, recovered from their astonish- 
ment, had again begun the siege. Three or four bri- 
gands had poked their noses over our ramparts and 
saw the carnage. Coltzida knew not what to think of 
the three scourges who had struck blindly, right and 
left, among friends and foes; but he decided that 
either sword or poison must have freed the King of 
the Mountains. He prudently ordered the men to de- 
molish our defense. We were out of sight, sheltered by 
the wall, about ten steps from the stair-case. The 
noise of the falling barricade warned my friends to 
reload their revolvers. The King allowed them to do 
so. He said to John Harris: 

“Where is Photini?” 

“On my ship.” 

“You have not harmed her?’^ 

“Do you think that I have taken lessons from you in 
torturing young girls?” 

“You are right, I am a miserable old dog; pardon 
me! Promise me to forgive her!” 

“What the devil do you want me to do with her? 
Now that I have found Hermanill«I will send her back 
to you whenever you wish.” 

“Without ransom?” 

“You old beast!” * 

$ 

15 


226 


THE KINO OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


“You shall see whether I am an old beast T 

He passed his left arm around Dimitri’s neck, he ex- 
tended his shriveled and trembling hand toward the 
hilt of his sword, painfully drew the blade from the 
scabbard, and marched toward the stair-case where 
Coltzida and his men stood hesitating. They recoiled 
at sight of him, as if the earth had opened to allow 
the passage of the ruler of the infernal regions. There 
were fifteen or twenty, all armed; not one dared to 
defend himself, to make excuses, nor even to attempt to 
escape. They trembled in all their limbs, at sight of the 
terrible face of the resuscitated King. Hadgi-Stavros 
marched straight to Coltzida, who, paler and more 
horrified than the others, attempted to hide behind 
his companions. The King threw his arm backwards 
by an effort impossible to describe, and with one blow 
severed his head from his body. Instantly, a trembling 
seized him. His sword fell on the dead man and he 
did not deign to pick it up. 

“Let us go on,” he said, “I carry an empty scabbard. 
The blade is no longer of use, neither am I ; lam done 
for !” 

His old companions approached to ask pardon. 
Some of them begged him not to abandon them ; they 
knew not what to do without him. He did not honor 
them with a word of response. He implored us to 
accompany him to Castia to find horses, and to Sala- 
mis to search for Photini. 

The brigands allowed us to depart without hindrance. 
After a few steps, my friends noticed that I could 
scarcely step; Giacomo helped me along; Harris 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


227 


asked if I was wounded. The King gave me a be- 
seeching look, poor man ! I told my friends that I had 
attempted a perilous escape, and that my feet had been 
badly wounded. We carefully picked our way down 
the mountain paths. The groans of the wounded, and 
the voices of the bandits wdio were discussing mat- 
ters, followed us for quite a distance. As we ap- 
proached the village, the weather changed, and the path 
began to dry under our feet. The first ray of sunlight 
which burst forth seemed to me very beautiful. Hadgi- 
Stavros paid little attention to the outside world; he 
communed within himself. It is something to break off 
a habit of fifty years standing. 

On the outskirts of Castia, we met the monk who 
was carrying a swarm of bees in a sack. He greeted 
us courteously, and excused himself for not having 
visited us since the evening before. The musket shots 
had intimidated him. The King saluted him and 
passed on. My friends’ horses were waiting, with their 
guide, near the fountain. I asked them how they 
happened to have four horses. They said that M. 
Merinay made one of the party, but that he had 
alighted to inspect a curious stone, and that he had 
not yet reappeared. 

Giacomo Fondi lifted me to the saddle at arm’s 
length ; he could not resist the temptation. The King, 
assisted by Dimitri, painfully climbed into his. Harris 
and his nephew vaulted into theirs; Giacomo, Dimitri, 
and the guide preceded us on foot. 

The path widening, I rode up beside Harris, and he 


228 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


related to me how the King's daughter had fallen into 
his hands: 

“Imagine;” he said to me. “I had just arrived from 
my cruise, much pleased with myself, and very proud 
of having run down a half-dozen pirates. I anchored 
off Piraeus, Sunday, at six o’clock; I landed; and as 
I had been eight days tete-a-tete with my head officer, 
I promised myself a little pleasure in conversation. 
I stopped a fiacre, I hired it for the evening. I arrived 
at Christodule’s house in the midst of a general hub- 
bub ; I would never have believed that so much trouble 
could be found in a pastry-cook’s house. Every one 
was there for supper. Christodule, Maroula, Dimitri, 
Giacomo, William, M. Merinay and the little Sunday 
girl, more tricked out than ever. William related to 
me your story. It is useless to tell you that I made a 
great uproar. I was furious with myself for not hav- 
ing been in the city. My nephew assured me that he 
had done all he could. He had scoured the city for 
fifteen thousand francs, but his parents had opened 
only a limited credit for him ; briefly, he had not found 
the amount. In despair, he addressed himself to M. 
Merinay: but the sweet Merinay pretended that all 
his money was lent to his intimate friends, far from 
here, very far; — farther than the end of the world! 

“‘Eh! Zounds r I said to Lobster, ‘it is in lead- 
money that one must pay the old scoundrel. For 
what good is it to be as dextrous as Nimrod, if one’s 
talent is good only to break Socrates’ prison? We 
must organize a hunt for the old Palikars! Once, I 
refused a journey to Central Africa: I have since 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


229 


regretted it. It is double pleasure to shoot an animal 
which defends itself. Provide plenty of powder and 
balls, and to-morrow morning we will set out on a 
campaign.’ William took the bait, Giacomo brought 
his fist down in a crashing blow on the table ; you know 
what Giacomo’s fist-blows are. He swore that he 
would accompany us, provided he could find a sin- 
gle-barreled gun. But the most enraged of all was M. 
Merinay. He wished to bathe his hands in the blood 
of those wretches. We accepted his services, but I 
offered to buy the game which he would bring back. 
He swelled out his little voice in the most comical 
fashion, and showing his fists to Mademoiselle, said 
that Hadgi-Stavros would have business to settle with 
him. 

“I laughed gleefully like those who are always gay 
the night before a battle. Lobster became very merry 
at the thought of showing the bandits the progress 
he had made. Giacomo could not contain himself for 
joy; the corners of his mouth went around danger- 
ously near his ears; he cracked nuts with the face of 
a nut-cracker of Nuremburg. M. Merinay had a halo 
around his head. He was no longer a man, but a 
pyrotechnic display. 

“Except us, the guests resembled alder trees. The 
pastry-cook’s huge wife made signs of the cross ; Dimi- 
tri raised his eyes to heaven, Christodule advised us 
to think twice before we provoked the King of the 
Mountains. But the girl with the flat nose, the one 
to whom you gave the name of Crinolina invariabilis, 
was plunged in grief which was quite amusing. She 


230 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


fetched great sighs like a wood-splitter; she did this 
only to keep herself in countenance, and I could have 
put in my left eye all the supper which she put into 
her mouth.” 

“She is a good girl, Harris.” 

“Good girl as much as you wish, but I find that your 
indulgence for her passes all bounds. I have never 
been able to pardon her for her dresses which thrust 
themselves obstinately under the legs of my chair, the 
odor of patchouli which she spreads around me, and 
the lackadaisical glances which she passes around the 
table. One would say, upon my word, that she is not 
capable of looking at a carafe without casting sheep^s 
eyes at it. But if you love her, such as she is, there is 
nothing to be said. She left at nine o’clock for her 
boarding-school; I wished her bon voyage. Ten min- 
utes afterward I shook hands with our friends, we 
made a rendezvous for the next day, I went out, I 
wakened my coachman and guess whom I found in 
my carriage? Crinolina invariabilis with the pastry- 
cook’s servant. 

“She placed her finger on her lips. I entered with- 
out saying a word, and we started. ‘Monsieur Har- 
ris,’ she said in very good English, by my faith, ‘swear 
to me to renounce your plans against the King of the 
Mountains.’ 

“I began to laugh, and she began to weep. She de- 
clared that I would be killed; I replied that it was I 
who would kill the others; she objected to having 
Hadgi-Stavros killed; I wished to know why; at 
last, at the end of her eloquence, she cried out, as if 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


231 


in the fifth act of a play: ‘He is my father P Upon 
that I began to seriously reflect; once in a v»^ay does 
not count. I thought that it might be possible to re- 
cover a lost friend without risking two or three oth- 
ers, and I said to the young Palikar: 

“ ‘Your father loves you?’ 

“ ‘More than his life.’ 

“ ‘He never refuses you anything?’ 

“ ‘Nothing that is necessary.’ 

“ ‘And if you should write to him that you wanted 
M. Hermann Schultz would he send him to you with 
the message-bearer?’ 

“ ‘No.’ 

“ ‘You are absolutely sure of it?’ 

“ ‘Absolutely.’ 

“ ‘Then, Mademoiselle, I have but one thing to do. 
Set a thief to catch a thief. I will carry you on board 
The Fancy, and I will hold you as a hostage until Her- 
mann is returned.’ 

“ ‘I was about to propose it to you,’ she said. ‘At 
that price papa will send back your friend.’’’ 

Here I interrupted John Harris’ story. 

“Oh, well! you do not admire the poor, young girl 
who loves you enough to give herself into your 
hands?” 

“A fine affair!” he replied. “She wished to save that 
honest man, her father, and she well knew that once 
war was declared we would not let him escape. I 
promised to treat her with all the respect a gallant man 
ought to treat a woman. She wept until we reached 
Piraeus. I consoled her as best I could. She mur- 


232 THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 

mured: ‘I am a lost girl!’ I demonstrated to her by 
‘A’ plus ‘B’ that she would find herself again. I made 
her get out of the carriage. I helped her and the ser- 
vant into my boat, which now awaits us below. I 
wrote to the old brigand an explicit letter, and I sent 
an old woman with a little message to Dimitri. 

“Since that time the beautiful weeper enjoys undis- 
puted possession of my apartments. Orders were 
given that she was to be treated like the daughter of 
a king, I waited until Monday evening for her father’s 
response; then my patience failed me; I returned to 
my first plan; I took my pistols; I notified my friends, 
and you know the rest. Now it is your turn; you 
ought to have a whole volume to recount.” 

“I must first speak to the King.’’ 

I approached him and said to him in a low tone: 
“I do not know why I told you that Photini was in 
love with John Harris. Fear must have turned my 
head. I have been talking with him, and I swear to 
you, on the head of my father, that she is as indiffer- 
ent to him as if he had never spoken to her.” 

The old man thanked me with a motion of the hand, 
and I went back to John Harris, and related my ad- 
ventures with Mary- Ann. “Bravo!” he exclaimed. “I 
find that the romance is not complete on account of the 
absence of a little love. A sufficient amount will do 
no harm.’’ 

“Excuse me,’’ I answered. “There is no love in it 
at all! A firm friendship on one side, a little grati- 
tude on the other. But nothing more is necessary, I 
think, to make a reasonably suitable marriage.” 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


233 


“Marry, my friend, and permit me to be a witness 
to your happiness.” 

“You have well earned it, John Harris.” 

“When shall you see her again? I would give much 
to be present at the interview.” 

“I would like to surprise her and meet her by 
chance.” 

“That is a good idea! After to-morrow, at the Court 
Ball! You are invited. I am, too. Your note lies on 
your table, at Christodule’s house. Until then, my 
boy, you must remain on board my ship in order to 
recuperate a little. Your hair is scorched and your 
feet are wounded; we will have time to remedy all 
that.” 

It was six o’clock in the evening when the boat be- 
longing to Harris put off to The Fancy. They 
carried the King on deck; he could not walk. Pho- 
tini, weeping, threw herself into his arms. It was hap- 
piness to see that those whom she loved had survived 
the battle, but she found her father grown twenty 
years older. Possibly, also, she suffered from Harris’ 
indifference. He delivered her to her father in a char- 
acteristic American fashion, saying: “We are quits! 
You have returned my friend to me; I have restored 
Mademoiselle to you. An even exchange is no rob- 
bery ! Short accounts make long friends ! And now, 
most venerable old man, under what beneficent re- 
gion of the earth will you search for the one who is 
to hang you?” 

“Pardon me,” he replied, with a certain hauteur. “I 
have bidden adieu to brigandage forever. What would 


234 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


I do in the mountains? All of my men are dead, 
wounded or scattered. I could form another band; 
but these hands which have been so powerful, refuse 
to act. Younger men must take my place; but I defy 
them to equal my fortune and my renown. What shall 
I do with what few years are left to me? I know not 
yet; but you may be sure that my last days will not 
be idle ones. I have to establish my daughter to dic- 
tate my memoirs. Possibly, even, if the shocks of 
this week have not wearied my brain too severely, I 
will consecrate to the service of the State my talents 
and my experience. May God give me health and 
strength! before six months have passed I shall be 
President of the Ministry 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


235 


VIIL 

THE COURT BALL. 

Thursday, May 15, at six o’clock in the evening, 
John Harris, in full uniform, took me to Christodule’s 
house. The pastry-cook and his wife gave me a warm 
reception, not without many sighs on account of the 
King of the Mountains. As for me, I embraced them 
heartily. I was happy in being alive, and I saw only 
friends on all sides. My feet were cured; my hair 
trimmed, my stomach full. Dimitri assured me that 
Mrs. Simons, her daughter, and her brother were in- 
vited to the Court Ball, and that the laundress had 
taken a dress to the Hotel des Etrangers. I enjoyed, 
in advance, Mary-Ann’s surprise and joy. Christodule 
offered me a glass of Santorin wine. In this glorious 
beverage I thought to drink to liberty, riches, happi- 
ness. I mounted the staircase to my room, but be- 
fore retiring I knocked at M. Merinay’s door. He 
received me in the midst of a medley of books and pa- 
pers. “Dear sir, you see a man overwhelmed with 
work,” he said. ‘T found, above the village of Castia, 
an antique inscription, which deprived me of the pleas- 
ure of fighting for you, and which for six days has 
puzzled me. It is absolutely unknown, I assure you 
of that. No one has seen it; I have the honor of dis- 
covering it; I intend to give it my name. The stone 
is a small monument of shelly limestone, 35 centi- 
metres in height by 22, and set, by chance, on the 


236 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


edge of the path. The characters are of the finest 
period of art and cut to perfection. Here is the in- 
scription as I copied it in my note-book: 

^‘S. T. X, X. L 1 . 

“M. D. C. C. C. L. 1 . 

“If I can translate it my fortune is made. I shall be 
made member of the Academy of Inscriptions and 
Belles-lettres of Pont-Audemer! But the task is a long 
and difficult one. Antiquity guards its secrets with 
jealous care. I greatly fear that I have come across 
a monument relative to the Eleusinian mysteries. In 
that case there may perhaps be two interpretations to 
discover; the one the vulgar or demontique; the other 
the sacred or hieratique. You must give me your 
advice.’’ 

I replied: “My advice is that of an ignorant man. 
I think that you have discovered a mile-stone such as 
one often sees on long roads, and that the inscription 
which has given you so much trouble can, without 
doubt, be translated thus: 

“Stade, 22, 1851. Good evening, my dear M. Meri- 
nay; I am going to write to my father and then put 
on my red uniform.” 

My letter to my parent was an ode, a hymn, a chant 
of happiness. The exuberant joy which filled my 
heart overflowed upon the paper. I invited the fam- 
ily to my wedding, not forgetting good Aunt Rosen- 
thaler. I implored my father to sell his inn at once; 
I ordered that Frantz and Jean Nicolas should leave 
the service; I advised my other brothers to change 
their business. I took everything upon myself; I as- 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


237 


sumed the responsibility of the future of the whole 
family. Without losing a moment I sealed the letter 
and sent it by special messenger to Piraeus, to catch 
the German-Lloyd steamer, which sailed Friday morn- 
ing at 6 o^clock. “In this way,” I said to myself, “they 
will rejoice in my happiness almost as soon as I shall. 

At a quarter to nine sharp I entered the Palace with 
John Harris. Neither Lobster, M. Merinay nor Gia- 
como were invited. My three-cornered hat was a lit- 
tle rusty, but by candlelight this little defect was not 
noticeable. My sword was seven or eight centimetres 
too short; but what of that? Courage is not measured 
by the length of a sword, and I had without vanity the 
right to pass for a hero. The red coat was -tight-fit- 
ting; it pinched me under the arms, and the trimming 
on the cuffs was quite a distance from my hands; but 
the embroidery showed to advantage, as papa had 
prophesied. 

The ballroom, decorated with taste and brilliantly 
lighted, was divided into two sections. On one side 
behind the throne for the King and Queen were the 
fauteuils reserved for the ladies; on the other were 
chairs for the ugly sex. With one glance I swept the 
space occupied by the ladies. Mary-Ann had not yet 
arrived. 

At nine o’clock I saw enter the King and Queen, 
followed by the Grand Mistress, the Marshal of the 
Palace, the aides-de-camp, the Ladies of Honor, and 
the orderly officers, among whom I recognized M. 
George-Micrommatis. The King was magnificently 
dressed in Palikar uniform, and the Queen was re- 


238 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


splendent with exquisite elegancies which could come 
only from Paris. The gorgeousness of the toilets and 
the glitter of the national costumes made me almost 
forget Mary-Ann. I fixed my eyes on the door and 
waited. 

The members of the Diplomatic Corps and the most 
distinguished guests were ranged in a circle around 
the King and Queen, who conversed pleasantly with 
those near them for a half hour or so. I was on the 
outside row with John Harris. An officer, standing in 
front of us, stepped back suddenly with his whole 
weight upon my foot and the pain drew from me an 
exclamation. He turned his head and I recognized 
Captain Pericles, freshly decorated with the Ordre du 
Sauveur. He made excuses and asked for news. I 
could not refrain from informing him that my health 
did not concern him. Harris, who knew my history 
entirely, politely said to the captain: “Is it not M. 
Pericles to whom I have the honor of speaking?” 

“Himself!” 

“I am charmed! Will you be good enough to ac- 
company me, for a moment, into the card-room? It 
is still empty and we will be alone.” 

“At your orders. Monsieur.” 

M. Pericles, pale as a soldier who is leaving a hos- 
pital, smilingly followed us. Arrived, he faced John 
Harris and said to him: “Monsieur, I await your 
pleasure.” 

In reply Harris tore off his cross with its new rib- 
bon, and put it in his pocket, saying: “There, Mon- 
sieur, that is all I have to say to you!” 


THB KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


239 


“Monsieur!’^ cried the captain, stepping back. 

“No noise, Monsieur, I pray you. If you care for 
this toy you can send two of your friends for it to Mr. 
John Harris, Commander of The Fancy.” 

“Monsieur,” Pericles replied, “I do not know by 
what right you take from me a cross which is worth 
fifteen francs, and which I shall be obliged to replace 
at my own expense.” 

“Do not let that trouble you. Monsieur; here is an 
English sovereign, with the head of the Queen of 
England on it; fifteen francs for the cross, ten for the 
ribbon. If there is anything left, I beg of you to drink 
to my health.” 

“Monsieur,” said the officer, pocketing the piece, “I 
have only to thank you.” He saluted without another 
word, but his eyes promised nothing pleasant. 

“My dear Hermann,” Harris said to me, “it will be 
prudent for you to leave this country as soon as pos- 
sible with your future bride. This gendarme has the 
air of a polished brigand. As for me, I shall remain 
here eight days in order to give him time to demand 
satisfaction. After that I shall obey the orders which 
I have received to go to the Sea of Japan.” 

“I am sorry that your ardor has carried you so far. 
I do not wish to leave Greece without a specimen or 
two of the Boryana variabilis. I have an incomplete 
one without the roots in my tin box which I forgot 
when we left the camp.” 

“Leave a sketch of your plant with Lobster or Gia- 
como. They will make a pilgrimage into the moun- 


240 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


tains for your sake. But for God’s sake! make haste 
to get to a place of safety!” 

In the meantime my happiness had not arrived at 
the ball, and I tired my eyes staring at all the dancers. 
Toward midnight I lost all hope. I left the dancing 
hall and planted myself near a whist table, where four 
experienced players were displaying great skill. I had 
become interested in watching the game, when a 
silvery laugh made my heart bound. Mary-Ann was 
behind me. I could not see her, I dared not turn to- 
ward her, but I felt her presence, and my joy was over- 
whelming. What was the cause of her mirth I never 
knew. Perhaps some ridiculous uniform; one meets 
such in every country at official balls. I remembered 
that there was a mirror in front of me. I raised my 
eyes and I saw her, without being seen, between her 
mother and her uncle; more beautiful, more radiant 
than on the day when she appeared to me for the first 
time. Three strands of pearls were around her neck 
and lay partly on her divine shoulders. Her eyes shone 
in the candle-light, her teeth glistened as she laughed, 
the light played in her hair. Her toilet was such as all 
young girls wear; she did not wear, like Mrs. Simons, 
a bird of paradise on her head; but she was not the less 
beautiful; her skirt was looped up with bouquets of 
natural flowers. She had flowers on her corsage, and 
in her hair, and what flowers. Monsieur? I give you a 
thousand guesses. I thought that I should die of 
joy when I recognized upon her the — Boryana vari- 
abilis. Everything came to me from Heaven at the 
same moment! Is there anything sweeter than to find 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


241 


a coveted flower, for which one thought to search, in 
the hair of one whom one loves? I was the happiest 
of men and of naturalists. Excess of happiness made 
me cast to the winds all the proprieties. I turned 
quickly toward her, and holding out my hands, I cried : 

“Mary-Ann! It is I r 

Will you believe it. Monsieur, she recoiled as if ter- 
rified, instead of' falling into my arms. Mrs. Simons 
raised her head, so haughtily that it seemed to me as 
if her bird of paradise would fly away with it to the 
ceiling. The old gentleman took me by the hand, 
led me aside, examined me as if I was a curious beast, 
and said to me: ‘‘Monsieur, have you been presented 
to these ladies?” 

“There is no question about that, my worthy Mr. 
Sharper! My dear uncle! I am Hermann. Hermann 
Schultz! Their companion in captivity! their savior! 
Ah! I have had some wonderful experiences since 
their departure! I will relate them to you at your 
house.’’ 

“Yes, yes,” he replied. “But the English custom. 
Monsieur, exacts, absolutely, that one be presented to 
ladies before one relates stories to them.” 

“But since they know me, my good and excellent 
Mr. Sharper. We have dined more than ten times to- 
gether. I have rendered them a service worth a hun- 
dred thousand francs! You know it well; at the camp 
of the King of the Mountains.*” 

“Yes; yes; but you have not been presented.” 

“But do you not know that I have exposed myself to 
a thousand deaths for my dear Mary- Ann?” 

16 


242 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


*‘Very well! but you have not been presented.^’ 

“Present me, then, yourself.’’ 

“Yes, yes; but you must first be presented to me.” 

“Wait!” 

I ran like a crazy man across the ball-room; I jostled 
several couples who were waltzing; my sword got en- 
tangled between my legs, I slipped on the waxed floor, 
and fell my full length. It was John Harris who helped 
me up. 

“For whom are you searching?” 

“They are here, I have seen them. I shall marry 
Mary- Ann; but I must be presented first. It is the 
English custom. Help me! Where are they? Have 
you not seen a large woman, with a bird of paradise 
head-dress?” 

“Yes, she left the ball with a pretty girl.’’ 

“Left the ball! But, my friend, she is Mary-Ann’s 
mother!” 

“Be calm! we will find them again. I will have 
you presented by the American Minister.’’ 

“That is the very thing! I will show you my uncle, 
Edward Sharper. I left him here. Where in the 
devil has he hidden? He ought not to be far away!” 

Uncle Edward had disappeared. I dragged poor 
Harris to the Place des Palais, before the Hotel des 
Etrangers. Mrs. Simons’ apartments were lighted. 
At the end of a few moments the lights were extin- 
guished. Everyone had gone to bed. 

“Let us do the same,” Harris suggested. “Sleep 
will calm you. To-morrow between one and two, I will 
arrange your affairs.” 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


243 


I passed a night much worse than those of my cap- 
tivity. Harris slept with me, or rather, he did not 
sleep. We heard the carriages coming from the ball, 
descend Rue d’Hermes with their freight of uniforms 
and toilets. About five o’clock, weariness closed my 
eyes. Three hours afterwards, Dimitri entered my 
room and said: 

“Great news! Your Englisliwomen have gone!’’ 

“Where?” 

“To Trieste.” 

“Wretch! art thou sure of it?” 

“It was I who accompanied them to the ship.” 

“My poor friend,” Harris exclaimed, seizing my 
hands. “Gratitude may be assumed, but love does not 
come at will.” 

“Alas!” sighed Dimitri. This sentiment had an 
echo in his heart. 

Since that day. Monsieur, I have lived like the 
beasts; drank, ate, breathed. I sent my collection to 
Hamburg without one specimen of the Boryana varia- 
bilis. My friends accompanied me to the French 
steamer the day after the ball. They thought it wise 
to make the journey during the night, for fear of en- 
countering M. Pericles’ soldiers. We arrived without 
accident at Piraeus; but when a short distance from the 
shore, a half-dozen invisible muskets sent their bullets 
singing about our ears. It was the pretty Captain 
sending his adieux. 

I scoured the mountains of Malta, of Sicily, and of 
Italy, and my herbarium was much richer than I. My 
father, who had had the good sense to keep his inn, 


244 


THE KING OP THE MOUNTAINS. 


wrote to me, at Messina, that my efforts were appre- 
ciated. Perhaps I might find a place on arriving; but 
I determined to count on nothing. 

Harris was en route for Japan. In one or two years 
I hoped to have news of him. The little Lobster had 
written me from Rome that he was still exercising 
with the pistol. Giacomo continued to seal let- 
ters all day and crack nuts at night. M. Merinay 
found a new interpretation from the inscription on the 
monument, one more clever than mine. His great 
work upon Demosthenes ought to be printed some day 
or other. The King of the Mountains made peace 
with the authorities. He built a fine mansion on the 
road to Pentelicus, with a guard-house for lodging 
twenty-five devoted Palikars. In the meantime, he has 
rented a small hotel in the modern city, at the edge of 
the open sewer. He receives many people, and active- 
ly engages in public affairs, in order to be elected to 
the Ministry. Dimitri goes there occasionally, to 
supper, but sighs in the kitchen. 

I have never heard of Mrs. Simons, of Mr. Sharper, 
nor of Mary-Ann. If this silence continues, I shall 
soon think of them no more. Sometimes, even in the 
middle of the night, I dream that I am before her and 
that my tall, thin figure is reflected in her eyes. Then 
I awake, I weep hot tears and I furiously bite my pil- 
low. What I regret, believe me, is not the woman, 
it is the fortune and the position which escaped me. 
It is a good thing for me that I have not yielded up 
my heart, and each day I give thanks for my natural 
coldness. What I might complain of, my dear Mon- 
sieur, is, if unfortunately, I had fallen in love! 


THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 


245 


CHAPTER IX. 

LETTER FROM ATHENS. 

The day that I was about to send M. Hermann 
Schultz’s story to the publishers, I received from the 
correspondent to whom I had sent the MS., the fol- 
lowing letter : 

Sir: The histor}^ of the King of the Mountains is 
the invention of an enemy of truth and the gen- 
darmerie. No persons mentioned have set foot in 
Greece. The police have never vised any passports 
bearing the name of Mrs. Simons. The Commandant 
at Piraeus has never heard of The Fancy nor of Mr. 
John Harris. The Phillips Brothers do not remember 
of ever having employed Mr. William Lobster. No 
diplomatic agent has known any Maltese of the name 
of Giacomo Fondi. The National Bank of Greece has 
nothing with which to reproach itself, and it has never 
had on deposit, any funds made by brigandage. If 
it had received them, it would have considered it a 
duty to have confiscated them for its profit. I hold, 
for your inspection, the list of our officers of the gen- 
darmerie. You will find no trace of M. Pericles. I 
know’ only two men of that name ; one is a tavern-keep- 
er in Athens; the other sells spices in Tripolitza. As 
for the famous Hadgi-Stavros, whose name I have 
heard to-day, for the first time, he is a fabulous being 
whom one must relegate to Mythology. I confess, in 
all sincerity, that there have been sometimes brigands 
in the country. The principal ones were destroyed 
by Hercules or Theseus, who may be considered as the 
real founders of Greek gendarmerie. Those who es- 
caped the hands of these two heroes, have fallen under 


246 THE KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. 

the blows of our invincible army. The author of the 
romance has displayed as much ignorance as dishon- 
esty, in attempting to prove that brigandage exists 
to-day. I would give a great deal to have this ro- 
mance published, may be in France, or in England, 
with the name and portrait of M. Schultz. The world 
would know by what gross artifices he has attempted 
to make every civilized nation suspicious of us. 

As for you. Monsieur, who have always given us jus- 
tice, accept the assurance of the kindest sentiments, 
with which I have the honor of being. 

Your very grateful servant, 

Patriotis Pseftis. 

‘‘Author of a volume of Dithyrambics upon the re- 
generation of Greece; editor of the Journal TEsper- 
ance; member of the Archaeological Society of Ath- 
ens; corresponding member of the Academy of the 
Ionian Isles; stockholder in the National Company 
of the Spartan Pavlos.” 

THE AUTHOR HAS THE LAST WORD. 

Athenian, my fine friend, the truest histories are not 
those which have happened! 

THE END. 




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